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First Woman Priest
Ordained
At the Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana yesterday, Soledad
Robles González, was the first woman to ordained as a priest in Costa Rica,
at the Espiscopal Costarricense church - an Anglican Church.
The ceremony was attended by Costa Rica's archbishop, Héctor Monterroso.
Soledad Robles González has been director of a church in Desamparados, a
suburb south of San José.
Though support for women at the church has been important, now a women will
have an important role as the new priest will continue to serve the
faithful. Robles said that her new role as a woman priest will her get
closer and help single mothers and women who have been a victim of domestic
violence of aggression, among other women's issues.
At this church celibacy is an option, though Soledad Robles González has not
yet married.
The ceremony was full of fervour and joy.
Don't Forget Lock Your
Car
According to a recent report released by the Organismo de Investigación
Judicial - (OIJ) - crimes against property section, reveals that some ¢8.679
Million Colones) or $2.1 Million dollars at the current exchange rate) was
lost by owners of 2.930 automobiles, last year. These numbers reflect only
thefts in the San José Metropolitan Area.
The total value of the loss is the sum of the value of the automobiles
reported by their owners.
In the previous year, the reports shows that 5.060 vehicles of all types -
cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trailers, etc - were lost to theft.
However, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) - the national insurance
company - informs that is paid out ¢2.783 Million colones in claims
last year, to 2.981 owners who had purchased a voluntary policy against
theft.
In Costa Rica, the annual payment of the 'Marchamo' includes basic insurance
for accidents and theft, however, if owners want complete protection for
their vehicles they must purchase and additional policy from the INS to
cover damage and theft not covered in the 'involuntary' payment.
In this system, every automobile that has the legal right to circulate
public roads are covered by a basic insurance policy against accidents,
injury and theft.
The numbers show that crimes against vehicles has increased over the last
few years. The total of cases reported equal to .07% of all vehicles
registered in the country, which at the end of 2003 was 722.664.
The report shows that in Costa Rica there is an average of 14 cars stolen
each day. Leaving a car open while parked on public streets is the major
cause of the thefts.
The areas hardest hit, according to the OIJ report, is San Pedro de Montes
de Oca, followed by Desamparados, San Vicente de Moravia, San Francisco de
Dos Ríos, Curridabat, San Juan de Tibás, Pavas and Guadalupe (Goicoechea).
The most stolen type of car is the Hyundai Excel, with the highest
occurrence between 3pm and midnight.
No To Racism
Today is the 7th "Festival de Canes" that will be held at the Roosevelt
sports field in San Pedro de Montes de Oca.
Starting at 10am, the festivities begin and there will be prizes given to
the master who resembles most his/her dog and a 'festival queen' will be
elected.
Music, food and dance are all part of the activities,
along with obedience demonstrations, and vetertinarions will be on hand
to give dogs their shots.
The festival is organized by the Asociación Nacional Protectora de
Animales (ANPA), which is a protection agency that taken in sick,
wounded and abandoned dogs. ANPA also assists those who want to adopt a
dog.
The president of ANPA, Gisela Vico, said the festival is an opportunity
to show the barbarities committed against street dofs or 'zaguates' as
they are locally called. Dogs are also mistreated in their homes, Vico
added. |
Ciccio adandoned in downtown
San Jose is now our best friend! |
The festival is open to anyone to loves dogs. Along with the festivities
will be information on grooming and caring for dogs.
Just follow the barks!
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With GSM and the Lowest Cost to Rent a
Cellular Telephone in Costa Rica! |
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Protesters observe silence for victims of clashes in Venezuela
Saturday's demonstration to demand a recall referendum against
President Hugo Chavez ended with a minute of silence in memory of the people
killed during last week's violent protests.
After a two-hour march starting from six different places with an estimated
200,000 people, hundreds of anti-Chavez demonstrators gathered for a few
more hours in Avenue Libertador, one of the main streets in central Caracas,
demanding the National Electoral Council (CNE) validate the 3.4 million
signatures collected to finish Chavez's mandate before his term expires.
After chanting the national anthem, the protesters observed a minute of
silence for the people killed in last week's clashes.
"Our biggest weapon is the constitution. Our missiles are the 3.4 million
signatures handed over to the CNE," Pompeyo Marquez, a former guerrilla and
former leader of the Venezuelan Communist Party, said in a speech during the
protest.
Caracas was the scene of grave conflicts between protesters and the army and
police loyal to the government between Feb. 27 and March 2. Figures released
by the opposition showed that anti-Chavez protests left at least 10 people
dead and thousands of others wounded and resulted in more than 380 arrests.
The electoral body on Tuesday validated only 1.8 million signatures, short
of the 2.4 million required by law to trigger a recall vote. But 800,000
more signatures are yet to be reconfirmed, and the door to deposing Chavez
is still open.
Chavez, accused by his opponents of wrecking Venezuela's economy, has
already experienced since his election in 1998 two general strikes and a
48-hour coup in April 2002 and a strike at the start of last year. The
recall referendum campaign is the latest challenge to his five-year rule.
Argentina demands IMF approval of accord before debt payment
Argentina will pay its due foreign debt only if the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) guarantees approval of the targets set in the second revision of
a bilateral accord, Argentine Chief of Cabinet Alberto Fernandez said on
Saturday.
Fernandez said the accord states that Argentina pays its debt while the
international reserves from which the money for the payments is obtained
would be returned.
"That is why we are handing over such an important percentage of the
reserves that have been so hard to raise," he said.
Fernandez said that "objectively" the IMF had no "serious arguments" to
disapprove the second revision. "If the IMF finally does not approve the
fulfillment of the targets, the one failing to do its duty won't be
Argentina but the one who doesn't comply with its part of the commitment,"
he said.
He added that "it would be a serious situation if the IMF did not comply."
The Argentine government should pay by next Tuesday 3.1 billion US dollars
in due foreign debt.
Castro
meets visiting Vietnamese leader
President of Cuba's Council of State and Council of Ministers
Fidel Castro met here on Saturday with Nong Duc Manh, general secretary of
the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, who arrived here Friday
for a five-day official visit.
Cuban officials said the Vietnamese delegation will visit Havana's Center
for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, medical schools and other health
organizations, and will place a wreath at the Jose Martin monument.
The visiting Vietnamese leader is to be conferred the Order of Jose Marti,
the most important honor given by the Cuban State Council to foreign
dignitaries.
Before departing Hanoi on a two-week trip that will also take him to Germany
and Belgium, Manh expressed his admiration for the unwavering revolutionary
will, socialist thought and spirit of internationalism of the Cuban leader.
He said he will make every effort to strengthen and deepen the friendship
between the two countries.
Manh was accompanied by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan and other
officials.
Mexican
president's US visit achieves symbolic result
Mexican President Vicente Fox concluded his US visit on Saturday
by gaining concessions from President George W. Bush to ease border
restrictions, but observers say the result is of symbolic value to Fox
although it is of significance to both leaders, especially Bush, who is
bidding for reelection.
"We welcome the news that was confirmed today with regard to visitors to the
US from Mexico," Fox told a joint press conference with Bush after their
meeting.
"We appreciate what this will do to the flow of visitors now that they will
not have to be photographed or fingerprinted at the frontier for short
visits to the US," Fox said.
Under the deal reached by Fox and Bush, Mexicans, who enter the United
States by land with a border-crossing card and who travel no further than 40
km and stay in the United States for no longer than 72 hours, will not be
photographed and fingerprinted.
However, observers believe the deal means little as Mexicans have already
been photographed and fingerprinted before they can be issued a
border-crossing card, and whether the deal can be passed by the US Congress
in an election year is a different matter.
And if Mexicans use the border-crossing card as a visa and stay in the
United States longer than 72 hours or travel further than 40 km, they will
still be subjected to the strict immigration measures enacted after the
Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001.
Under the US-Visit program in place since Jan. 5 this year, visitors who
need a visa to enter the United States must be fingerprinted and
photographed to prevent terrorists from entering he country. However, the
controversial program has drawn angry protests from its neighbors.
Nonetheless, Fox, who is under pressure for making good his promise of
promoting a migration agreement with the United States, can now go back home
relieved.
But a pessimistic Bush seemed not sure about congressional approval of the
deal. "There is no telling what is going to happen in an election year," he
said.
Bush has been pushing his immigration reform plan that would allow at least
8 million illegal aliens currently working in the United States to keep
their jobs and open the door for millions more to follow. But the congress
has shown little inclination to tackle the issue in an election year,
leaving Bush almost powerless to enact them.
Still, the deal is significant to Bush who has been trying to woo the
Hispanic community, the fastest growing voting bloc, for his reelection bid.
Facing Democratic criticism of isolating allies by his administration, Bush
has been mending fences with old allies, including Mexico, who fell out with
the United States over Bush's decision to invade Iraq. Mexico refused to
support the US-led war against Iraq in the UN Security Council.
To rebuff the Democratic criticism, Bush tried to patch up relations with
Mexico by holding talks with Fox in his 1,600-acre private ranch in
Crawford, Texas. This was the first time Bush invited a Latin American
leader to his ranch.
Observers believe that a deal on easing migration restrictions, although
hardly feasible, serves the interests of both Fox and Bush as Fox seeks to
boost domestic support and Bush tries to win over the Hispanic-American
groups in a critical election year.
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