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New Tourist
Attraction to be Built
The national insurance company - INS (Instituto Nacional de
Seguros) - plans to spend One Million Dollars to build an panoramic elevator
to it's office building in downtown San José.
Though the plan has met with strong criticism, Germán Serrano Pinto,
president of INS, assures that the expense is justified.
According to a report released by INS management, the elevator is being
built to permit access to the Jade Musuem and and is to become a cultural
value and promote tourism both to nationals and foreigners.
As well, the external elevator will have a panoramic view of the Central
Valley and a restaurant is to be built at the top level.
One of the few supporters of the plan, according to Serrano, is Guido Sáenz,
Ministro de Cultura.
The plan calls for the construction to be built from funds of the INS's
reserves and plans to charge tourists $5 for the ride. Serrano says that the
cost will be recovered within 10 years.
Study Shows
90% of Men Unfaithful
A recent study on relationships between couples,
shows that the institution of marriage is in crisis.
The study reveals that 90% of Costa Rican men interviewed said they were
unfaithful to their partner, while women were not that far behind at 87%
infidelity.
According to the experts who created the study, the results are a symptom of
modern society which affects both sexes. The experts indicated that one
major factor is that Costa Rican woman are now more liberal.
Last year, according to the report, there were more divorces on record than
marriages. the Registro Civil (Civic Registry) registered 8.200 catholic
marriages, while it recorded 9.400 divorces in the same period.
The Catholic church is aware that marriage is on it's way out and is putting
forth a series of initiatives so that couples take another look at marriage.
The report indicates that only 10% of couples reach a stable union.
Villalobos to Run for President in 2006
Former Minister of Justice, José Miguel
Villalobos, confirmed yesterday that he will be launching a new policitacl
party - the name was not revealed - and will be running for the office of
President of Costa Rica in the 2006 elections.
Villalobos served as Minister of Justice
in the administration of Abel Pacheco until he was fired in October 2002
when he question the current administration on the legality of handing
over the Pococi de Limon jail to private hands.
"The people will support us, as we are rebels with a cause, because we
believe the country is not fine", Villalobos was quoted.
He also told the press, that come May, some members of the legislature
will be moving over to the new party. He expects that up to 20 members
will make the move from the other parties - PUSC, PAC, PLN and
Libertarios - to his party. |
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He could not give the names of those he expects to make the
switch, however, assured that he is in conversations with various members of
the other parties of which he assured he has good relations with.
Villalobos defines himself as "radical centre".
U.S. Women
Secure Olympic Berth by Beating Costa Rica
The U.S. women's soccer team, as expected, qualified for the Athens Olympics
with a semifinal victory in a regional tournament Wednesday at San Jose.
Shockingly, they'll be accompanied to the Olympics by Mexico, which upset
Canada 2-1 in the other semifinal.
Canada finished fourth at last year's World Cup.
The Americans routed Costa Rica 4-0 on goals by Aly Wagner, Abby Wambach,
Kristine Lilly and Shannon Boxx.
“This is my first time qualifying for an Olympics, so I'm really excited,”
Boxx said. “Obviously, it was something that was expected of us, but it's
still always a tough road. “We came out today and put on a good performance
and got the result we needed.”
After losing in the semifinals of the World Cup last year, the Americans
made winning gold in Athens their primary goal.
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Rioting spreads in
Venezuela
Street protests erupted after Venezuela's elections council said
the opposition lacked enough signatures to force a recall referendum against
President Hugo Chavez. Rioting over council delays had spread from Caracas
to other cities before the decision and intensified immediately afterward.
Chavez opponents say they submitted more than 3.4 million signatures. Some
2.4 million are needed for a recall election.
But council president Francisco Carrasquero announced Tuesday that just 1.83
million signatures were valid. Another 876,016 signatures may be valid -- if
citizens confirm that they indeed signed the petition, Carrasquero said.
The decision triggered demonstrations by citizens banging pots and pans and
exploding fireworks throughout the capital, Caracas.
Even before the announcement, protests surged as the opposition anticipated
the result. National guard troops in armored personnel carriers rolled
through several cities as demonstrators burned tires and hurled rocks and
gasoline bombs at soldiers. Sporadic gunfire was heard for a second straight
night in Caracas.
Protests were reported in at least seven other cities, including Merida,
Puerto La Cruz, Maracay, San Felipe, the industrial centers of Valencia and
Barquisimeto and the western oil city of Maracaibo.
Many opposition leaders had said they would not accept a decision requiring
voters to confirm their signatures. The measure was allegedly not included
in rules established for the verification process, they said.
The council said that voters would have between March 18 and March 22 to
report to voting centers to confirm that they indeed had signed the
petition.
Venezuela's opposition claims that such a monumental task, involving
hundreds of thousands of citizens, would postpone the referendum or derail
it entirely.
Dominican
Republic: A backlash against protesters
The economic crisis in the Dominican Republic has had devastating
consequences. The serious decline in the value of the Dominican peso
accompanied by large price rises for basic necessities and increasing
problems with power supply in the country have led to escalating public
protests against government economic policy. During many of those protests,
security forces have been accused of arbitrary arrests of activists,
excessive use of force and unlawful killings of demonstrators and
bystanders, a report by Amnesty International concludes.
"The Dominican authorities must issue clear and public instructions to the
security forces that they should not use unlawful levels of force or
violence to respond to peaceful protests," the organization said.
Although reports of serious human rights violations by security forces are
widespread, those accused of committing them are rarely brought to justice.
In July shopkeeper Juan Lin was reportedly shot in the head by police
officers as they began indiscriminately firing their weapons to disperse
demonstrators marching against the impact of the government economic
policies. Juan was not taking part in the protests.
"Juan's case is only one of scores of reports of excessive and
disproportionate use of force by the security forces. The authorities must
not permit a backlash against ordinary civilians in the context of these
protests," Amnesty International stressed.
The crisis has also contributed to a situation in which reported curbs on
freedom of the press have become more frequent, as the authorities have
tried to prevent critics of their policies from airing their views.
In July two local radio broadcasters in Montecristi province, Horacio Emilio
Lemoine and Carlos Martínez, were detained for several days, during which
time they were taken to National Police headquarters in Santo Domingo and
interrogated. Their "crime" was reportedly to stage an informal poll to see
who listeners would vote for in the next presidential race; several callers
said they would prefer the devil to current President, Hipolito Mejía, as a
candidate.
"Amnesty International has taken note of, and welcomed, commitments by the
Dominican authorities to fully respect human rights. However, those
expressions of commitment appear to be greatly at odds with the actual
situation in the country today", the organization said.
"Authorities must also ensure that all reports of human rights violations
are fully and impartially investigated. Impunity is a very real problem and
the Dominican Republic is suffering its practical impact."
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