Today's Stories: Two More Priests Charged With Abuse Costa Rica's Plans Disjointed Pennsylvania Student Killed in Costa Rica Woman Arrested in for Prostitution of Minors Costs for industrial sector increase The Dominican Republic joins FTA Costa Rica vs. Colombia News Briefs

Dengue Invades Limon 1.851 are affected by Dengue in Limon, that is 1.623 more than in 2003, when only 228 cases of Dengue were reported. A doctor at the Limon hospital said they are continually at full capacity with patients, for every one that leaves hospital, another is admitted. Limon has 51% of the cases of Dengue reported in the whole country. Following is a breakdown of cases reported by region, according to the Health Ministry.

Air Traffic Controllers Strike Continues into Day 21!

On July 15, the young man who says he was abused by Vásquez when he was 11 years old, says in his formal statement that José Joaquín Porras and Enrique Delgado, both priests of the Catholic church, abused him as well.

According to the young man, he was an alter boy at the Orotina church when father Vásquez was there, got him drunk and then raped him. And that on another occasion, he accompanied Vásquez to a meeting in Alajuela with Delgado and Porras, where the three priests took advantage of him.

Father Vásquez is charged with aggravated rape, corruption of minors and abuse, while the other priests only face charges of abuse.

Vásquez is still at large. A report that Vásquez was in Nicaragua placed that country's police force on alert and arrested a man who looked much like Vásquez and later released him when his true identity was verified.

Nicaraguan police spokeswoman Miriam Torres said officers were still searching for Enrique Vargas Vásquez. Immigration records show that Vásquez entered Nicaragua on July .

Torres said the man detained Tuesday on suspicion of being the priest turned out to be Orlando Guerrero Marcano of Venezuela. He was turned over to immigration authorities for deportation due to visa violations.

The children's rights group Casa Alianza has criticized senior church officials in the region for failure to notify authorities about the whereabouts of a man they knew faced criminal allegations.

Costa Rica's Plans Disjointed
Central American political forces say it's time for a new attempt at integration by giving new life to the institutions that were created for that end.

The integration agenda is complicated by renewed efforts to reform the System of Economic Integration, known as SICA, the Central American Parliament, or Parlacen, the Central American Court and the Central American Economic Integration Bank, called BCIE. Full Story

Pennsylvania Student Killed in Costa Rica
A Moravian College, Pennsylvania, student was killed Sunday night in a fall at a resort beach in Costa Rica, where he was studying Spanish for the summer.

John Paul Krupa, 21, a sociology major who had just finished his sophomore year, died at Playa Flamingo on the Central American country's Pacific coast, his mother said Thursday.

Anne Krupa, speaking from her home in Ashley, Luzerne County, said she knows little else about what happened to her son.

''We are not looking at it as a police case,'' she said. ''We are not even headed up that alley. We just want to get his body back home.''

Krupa was staying in San José, with family friends and had only been there for eight days, according to his family. They learned of the accident first from their friends, then from the U.S. Embassy in San Jose.

Anne Krupa said her son and two American students he met in Costa Rica went to Playa Flamingo, a few hours from San José. The two students were with him when the accident happened.

Elaine Samson, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, said she didn't know the details of Krupa's death.

Anne Krupa said Moravian approved college credit for her son's study in Costa Rica.

Woman Arrested in for Prostitution of Minors
A 47 year old woman, identified only by her last name Campos, was arrested for "proxenetismo" in a raid on Thursday night in her private club, where police found more than 10 minors present.

The woman operated her club in Cóbano, Puntarenas, and is said to have recruited about 8 or 9 minores per month, who would come from Guancaste, San Carlos, Palmares and other small centres to work in her club offering sexual services to patrons.

The prosecutor's offices has filed charges against the women for corruption of minors, sexual exploitation and proxenetismo (pimping). Also arrested was a man identified only by his last name, Baltodano, who lived with the woman and managed the club.

The San Ramon courts ordered six months preventative detention against the two, while police complete their investigation.

Costs for industrial sector increase
The industrial sector was challenged along the last year by a 14.32 percent increase in raw materials and other production costs.

Sources at the Central Bank explained that the hikes in the prices of steel, oil products and in the water and power bills are responsible for most of the impact sustained by the sector in the last 12 months.

They pointed out that the heaviest influence was that of steel, an issue that is affecting industry worldwide, according to them.

The Dominican Republic joins FTA
The Dominican Republic decided to join the Central American nations in their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.

The information was disclosed by the Costa Rican head negotiator, Anabel Gonzalez.

Therefore, trade between Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic would now follow the new agreement, and not the one that the two nations had entered in 1998, Ms. Gonzalez added.

COPA AMERICA
Costa Rica vs. Colombia
Colombia coach Reinaldo Rueda has warned his side not to underestimate their Copa America quarter-final opponents Costa Rica.

Costa Rica, who are coached by Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto, made it to the last eight as the second best third-placed team.

But Rueda said: "Professor Pinto is an important trump card."

"We have good opponents in front of us with a good coach and we can't afford to give them any chances."

He added: "He has a good record, and Costa Rica were at the last World Cup which we didn't get to, and that's not to be sniffed at."

Pinto said he is looking forward to taking on his fellow countrymen.

"Going up against Colombia will be a nice challenge. It hurts that I'm playing against my home country but we're going head-to-head, we have to win," he said.

"If we win, it will be a source of pride for me and my players, who believe so much in me."

Costa Rica midfielder Leonardo Gonzalez is doubtful with a knee injury.

Colombia are without defenders Gonzalo Martinez and Arley Dinas due to suspensions, with Hayder Palacio and Andres Gonzalez likely to deputise.


Click here the Copa America website!

News Briefs

• Next week, Transport Minister, Javier Chaves, is expected to sign a decree that will force taxi drivers to wear blue pants and white shirt - an informal uniform - and proper signage to identify them. The plan is to eliminate confusion by consumers of authorized taxis and "informal" taxi operators. Taxi drivers will need to conform to the new regulations to maintain their taxi plates current.
   
• Come Monday, ICE will offer for sale 15.000 GSM lines - lines that their owners lost for non-payment or switched over to the TDMA technology. The cost of the deposit to obtain a line is ¢12.500. Customers will need to present their cedula, a receipt for the purchase of the telephone and a utility bill.