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Pineapples Surpass Coffee
The amount in dollars of Costa Rican pineapples
sold abroad surpassed that for coffee for the first time last year.
The fruit now places fifth in Costa Rican sales abroad, surpassed by modular
circuits, textiles, bananas, and medical supplies.
Coffee dropped to the seventh place, also surpassed by pharmaceuticals.
A Taste of Coffee
Representatives from 10 gourmet coffee firms from England, Scotland, and
Finland visited Costa Rica to learn about the high quality of the Tico beans
and the production system.
Roasters, traders, purchasing managers, and experts were part of the
delegation, which was invited by the Coffee Institution of Costa Rica (ICAFE
in Spanish) as part of the promotion program for the Tico product.
The visitors sampled the product at some of its major production areas,
including Coto Brus, Orosi, Turrialba, Perez Zeledon, the Los Santos region,
and the Central Valley.
Economy at Slow Pace
According to the Central Bank, the rhythm of production of Costa Rica
continues ebbing.
To last December, the annual variation of the monthly Index of Economic
Activity was 5.2 percent, as compared to 5.3 percent the preceding November.
The Index is an indicator that shows the monthly performance of the
activities that are part of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the overall
value of the goods and services produced domestically.
If the high-technology sector is not included, the percentage for December
2003 was even lower, 4.7 percent, the sources pointed out.
Sales to Asia Increased
Costa Rican exports to Asia reached $611 million last year, 94 percent more
than in 2002, mainly because of the influence of sales by Intel.
However, other firms have ventured into the Asian markets, because of the
great expectations in relation to that part of the world. Japan, for
example, has high purchasing power, and Taiwan and Singapore follow suit.
The growing importance of China in the world market is also reckoned to, as
is the huge number of consumers in that nation.
The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER in Spanish) reported that,
according to its statistics, Tico sales to Asia surpassed by $297 million
the $314 million recorded in 2002.
Therefore, Asia became the largest growing market, while sales to North
America increased by 6 percent, those to Central America by 11 percent, to
the European Union by 22 percent, and elsewhere in Europe, where sales are
very low, by 40 percent.
Did Bogus Doc
Kill the Woman?
Dean Faiello didn't have a doctor's license, didn't have a medical degree
and in fact was a college dropout.
But that didn't stop him from earning big bucks from a lucrative
laser-surgery practice for almost seven years.
Along the way, there were some glitches - an arrest for illegally writing
prescriptions, an unhappy patient who sued for $8,000.
But Faiello, 45, also managed to wiggle his way out and keep going.
Last April, his world suddenly collapsed
when he allegedly killed Manhattan bank analyst Maria Cruz, 35, with an
overdose of anesthetics.
Already facing four years behind bars for practicing medicine without a
license - and now certain to be the focus of a homicide investigation -
Faiello allegedly buried the body in a concrete coffin in his Newark
home and bolted for Costa Rica.
Faiello's career as a quack began 1996 when he opened Skin Ovations, a
laser-surgery practice, from a Park Avenue office. |
Danny Faiello Wanted in the U.S.is
believed to be hiding in Costa Rica |
He subsequently moved to 133 E. 73rd St. and in 2002 to a
swank Gramercy Park duplex at 117 E. 18th St. The rent was about $40,000 a
month.
On his Web site, he claimed to be "one of the foremost specialists" in the
field, having "taught doctors from all over the country how to perform laser
treatment."
In fact, Faiello never graduated from medical school or even college. He
dropped out of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
From 1993 to 1998, he was a certified electrologist - using electrical
equipment to remove hair - but he lost his certification in 1998.
That year, he was busted for writing prescriptions on pads stolen from Dr.
Laurie Polis, a dermatologist for whom he once worked, helping on laser
procedures.
He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and got three years' probation.
That year also, the Office of Professional Discipline of the state Education
Department - which licenses professionals - began an investigation.
In December 1998, the office sent investigator Kathy Hearn to Faiello and he
offered to remove a benign skin lesion through laser surgery.
Faiello's troubles began to mount.
In 1999 he was sued for $8,000 by ex-patient Mark Schuckman, who claimed his
hair-removal treatments were worthless. Faiello settled for $3,250.
In February and March 2002, Faiello offered to perform laser surgery on
state investigators Ariana Miller and Tonya Holder.
Acting on a tip, Post reporter Jeane MacIntosh went to see him about a
lesion. Faiello said it could be removed with one or two $250 laser
sessions.
Although two doctors had previously insisted that a biopsy be performed,
Faiello didn't recommend one. Removing a lesion without a biopsy is
dangerous because it could allow a malignancy to go undetected and spread.
On Oct. 6, 2002, The Post ran an exposé about Faiello. Two days later he was
busted and charged with three counts of practicing medicine without a
license, punishable by up to four years behind bars.
He pleaded guilty last June 6 but remained free on $5,000 bail pending
sentencing in September.
Meanwhile, Faiello had resumed operations at a West 16th Street apartment -
where Cruz went for treatment April 13 - the day she was last seen alive.
Echenique reset the course record by one shot with a
brilliant 65 for a two round total of four under par 138, to take a one
stroke lead from Spain’s Carlos Quevedo, who fired a 72 to add to his
opening 67.
Argentine Fabian Gomez aced a perfect six iron at the 175 yard, par three,
seventh – which helped him into third place alongside his compatriot
Clodomiro Carranza; Englishman Darren Leng, Pasi Purhonen of Finland and
Italy’s Alessandro Tadini.
It was Purhonen who equaled Echenique’s new course record, carding seven
birdies and a solitary bogey in some tricky conditions to card his own 65.
While the severe winds that had had a huge bearing on the first day’s
scoring were not as severe during round two, there was still a stiff breeze
circling the par 71, 7011 yard, Valle del Sol Golf Club as Echenique
constructed his record breaking round.
Surprisingly, the Argentinian, credited his bogey at the par five third hole
as the catalyst for his great score. “After a birdie at the first, I made a
really great bogey at the third,” said Echenique.
“After problems off the tee I still had 230 yards to the green and was
playing my fourth shot. I missed the green with that but then managed to get
up and down from a really bad lie for a six, which somehow I was able to
convert into something positive.”
Birdies at the fifth, sixth (where he chipped in), seventh and eighth were
conclusive proof of his positivity.
“I almost birdied the ninth as well but was more than satisfied at being
four under at the turn. I played really steady on the back nine and was
fortunate enough to birdie 16 and 17 with two great putts.”
Bush Notifies Congress to Sign CAFTA Pact
U.S. President George W. Bush notified the U.S. Congress on Friday
that he intends to sign a new free trade agreement with five Central
American countries, but did not say whether he would seek a potentially
divisive vote on the pact ahead of this year's elections.
U.S. law requires Bush to give lawmakers 90 days notice before entering into
any trade agreement. The United States wrapped up free trade negotiations
with El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala in December and resolved
remaining issues with Costa Rica last month.
In a letter to Congress, Bush said his administration was continuing talks
aimed at including the Dominican Republic in the agreement and hopes to work
with Congress on legislation to enact the pact. He did not say whether he
would seek a vote on the agreement this year.
Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who
won the endorsement of the 13-million member AFL-CIO labor coalition on
Thursday, has announced his opposition to the agreement unless it is
renegotiated to beef up protections for workers and the environment.
Kerry has been criticized by his lead Democratic rival, Sen. John Edwards of
North Carolina, for voting in favor of the North American Free Trade
Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada in 1993.
Supporters of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA,
argue its labor and environmental provisions meet the guidelines Congress
set for the administration as part of a "trade promotion authority" bill in
2002. But critics say the region requires a tougher approach because of its
poor labor record.
Earlier this week, a senior U.S. business official conceded that supporters
did not yet have the 218 votes needed for approval of CAFTA in the House of
Representatives.
The AFL-CIO and a coalition of environmental, consumer and human rights
groups have set their sights on defeating the pact, which they fear could
become a model for a larger trade agreement covering every country in the
Americas except Cuba.
U.S. sugar and textile interests also oppose the pact, but many other
business and farm groups have endorsed it, giving supporters confidence they
can gather enough votes to put the measure through Congress.
"My own view is there's a sweet spot for voting on trade agreements" between
the spring congressional primary season and the August congressional recess,
said Scott Miller, Washington representative for Procter and Gamble, a CAFTA
supporter.
Miller said the pact would open up new U.S. export and business
opportunities in a variety of sectors.
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US requests
extradition of Colombian paramilitary
The United States urged Colombia to arrest and extradite senior
chiefs of the paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
Carlos Castano and Salvatore Macuso, the local radio Caracol reported
Friday.
Colombian Ambassador to the United States Luis Alberto Moreno said in an
interview with Caracol from Washington that the US government had made
official request two months ago.
The US government considered the AUC and leftist Colombian guerrilla
terrorist organizations, including Castano and Mancusso, as "big drug
dealers."
Moreno expressed his confidence that the US extradition requestfor Castano
and Mancuso would not hinder the peace process between the government and
the paramilitary.
The AUC, established in the 1980's by drug traffickers and landowners to
fight leftist guerrillas in areas where government troops have little
control, declared on Dec. 1, 2002 a unilateral cease-fire with the
government of President Alvaro Uribe, startingthe peace negotiations.
Under the cease-fire agreement signed last July by the government and the
AUC, demobilization of the paramilitary group should complete by the end of
2005.
Colombia has been ravaged by a four-decade civil war between the government
and leftist guerrillas and paramilitary groups. At least 3,500 people are
killed a year, mostly civilians.
Argentine jet makes safe emergency landing
An Argentine Austral Airlines jet landed safely at Ezeiza International
Airport Friday after being declared in a state of emergency when it lost a
wheel on takeoff, an Air Force spokesman said.
He said that the plane bound for the Iguazu FAlls in the north, with 155
passengers and 16 crew on board, took off from the domestic hub Aeroparque
de Buenos Airs at 1:15 local time (1615 GMT). The left tire, which came off
the front end of the jet, dropped just seconds after the flight got under
way, and destroyed the fence of the air port.
After finding the ordeal, The jet's pilot reported it immediately to the
ground control tower, and decided to fly to Ezeiza International Airport 30
kilometers away. To burn fuel, the plane circled in the air for about an
hour. The right tire came off in the landing.
The Argentine air force began to investigate the cause of the accident.
Mexico bans
Canadian poultry imports due to bird flu
Mexico Friday banned poultry imports from Canada's British
Columbia Province following the discovery of bird flu in the region, the
local press reported.
Pierre Pettigrew, Health Minister of British Columbia Province, confirmed
Thursday the outbreak of bird flu on an undisclosed farm. But he maintained
it was an isolated case and there was no link with human health at this
moment.
The Mexican Agricultural Ministry said Friday that the type of pathology
detected in Canada was not the one found in Asia and could not threaten
people's health. However, imports were barred "until the sanitary technical
measures listed by the International Epizootic Organization are fulfilled."
It is not currently known if the strain in the outbreak is a low or high
pathogenicity form. High pathogenicity influenza viruses kill virtually all
chickens infected.
At the same time, the Mexican Agricultural Ministry ratified the ban on
poultry and poultry products in the Texas state of the United States, for an
outbreak was detected on a local farm.
Schwarzenegger seeks stop to gay unions
After a judge Friday declined to put an immediate end to same-sex
marriages in San Francisco, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered California's
attorney general Friday to "take immediate steps" to get a court ruling to
make the city stop.
Schwarzenegger's directive to Attorney General Bill Lockyer was prompted in
part by the judge's decision not to impose a temporary restraining order
that would have halted San Francisco's weeklong parade of 3,175 same-sex
weddings, said Rob Stutzman, Schwarzenegger's communications director.
"Our civilized society and legal system is based upon a respect for and
adherence to the rule of law," Schwarzenegger wrote in a letter to Lockyer.
"The City and County of San Francisco's unfortunate choice to disregard
state law and grant marriage certificates to gay couples directly undermines
this fundamental guarantee."
The Republican governor "feels that we've come to a point where we're
starting down a dangerous path and it leads to anarchy at some point,"
Stutzman said. "It's time for this to end."
Lockyer, an elected Democrat who is a potential candidate in the 2006
governor's race, has said he plans to vigorously defend state laws barring
gay marriage.
Judge Ronald Evans Quidachay denied the Campaign for California Families'
request for a temporary restraining order Friday, saying conservative groups
failed to prove same-sex weddings would cause irreparable harm. In a
separate case, another judge declined to order an immediate stop to the
marriages Tuesday.
The conservative group argued that the weddings harmed all the Californians
who voted in 2000 for Proposition 22, which defined marriage as between a
man and a woman.
The judge suggested that the rights of the gay and lesbian couples appeared
to be more substantial.
"If the court has to weigh rights here, on the one hand you are talking
about voting rights, and on the other you are talking about equal rights,"
Quidachay said.
Quidachay consolidated the Campaign for California Families' lawsuit against
the city with one filed by another conservative group, and told lawyers for
both sides to work out between themselves when the next hearing would be
held.
Peter Ragone, spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, scoffed at
Schwarzenegger's directive.
"The truth is, thousands of people are involved in loving relationships and
having them recognized for the first time," Ragone said. "We urge the
governor to meet with some of the couples because what's happening is both
lawful and loving."
Mathew Staver, a lawyer representing the Campaign for California Families,
said he believes the court ultimately will find that Newsom acted illegally
when he began allowing gay marriages last week.
"He can't decide to grant same-sex marriage licenses any more than he can
declare war against a foreign country," Staver said.
But chief deputy city attorney Therese Stewart said the failure of
conservative opponents to win emergency injunctions demonstrates that the
city has a strong case.
"Both judges really recognized there is nobody who is hurt by allowing gay
people to marry," Stewart said.
Newsom remained defiant before the ruling, officiating at the wedding of one
of California's most prominent lesbian politicians inside his offices at
City Hall.
A crowd of politicians and lawyers celebrated that wedding as other gays and
lesbians prepared to join the more than 3,000 same-sex couples allowed to
marry so far.
About 25 anti-gay-marriage protesters later blocked the door of the county
clerk's office, lying down in front of the line and singing religious songs.
Gays and lesbians responded by belting out "The Star-Spangled Banner" until
sheriff's deputies escorted the protesters out. No arrests were made.
Most Americans remain opposed to same-sex marriages. A poll out Friday
indicated that 50 percent of Californians remain opposed, but that sympathy
for allowing gays and lesbians to marry has risen by 6 percentage points
over the last four years, to 44 percent.
In the San Francisco Bay area, 58 percent of all respondents support gay
marriage, according to the Public Policy Institute of California poll, which
was based on a statewide survey taken Feb. 8-16 and has a margin of error of
2 percentage points.
While defending its new marriage policy in court, the city also is suing the
state, challenging its gay-marriage ban. The city contends the ban violates
the equal protection clause of the California Constitution.
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