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Attention Pet Owners
Having a pet in Costa Rica will mean taking care of your pet - ensuring your
pet's health and behaviour - or face fines and penalties that can include
going to jail for up to 10 years.
A new law adopted last month places the burden on owners of domestic dogs
and cats. The new regulations in the law 'Reglamento para la Reproducción y
Tenencia Responsable de Animales de Compañía' came into effect last
February.
The new regulations say that the owner of a pet can be fined and possibly
face a jail term if they are found not to be taking care of their pet's
heath and allow their pet to run free in public areas.
According to Gerardo Vicente, Minister of Health, there are no dogs are not
aggressive by nature. A dog's behaviour is based on his surroundings and
most dog attacks are a result of human behaviour and failure to care for the
dog. The Health Minister says that genetics plays a 20% role in a dog's
behaviour, while 80% is based on the dog's surroundings. The Minister said,
"a dog has to be trained. Leaving a 5 year old along with a dog is akin to
leaving him the child on a highway."
The new law is very specific as it relates to pets who are aggressive or
harmful and who may cause damage to property and persons.
An animal who is harmful will be required to e submitted to veterinary
evaluation. If found to be harmful to public health or have a irreversible
aggressive behaviour will be required to be destroyed.
Dog owners who permit their dogs to run free to cause damage or do not
ensure that their pet is not aggressive, causing attacks and injury, may
find themselves in court. A dog that is allowed to run free in public areas
and attacks or causes personal injury will result in a criminal charge
against it's owner.
A dog attack victim can now charge the owner and ask for restitution.
The new law also pretends to curb the practice of pets soiling public
properties. Owners are required to pick up after their pets or face a fine.
Dog owners will face fines if they allow their pets to run free in public
areas and the practice of taking a dog into a supermarket or any type of
food store will also be faced with sanctions.
Though the new rules are mainly to deal with dogs, they do include cats and
other domestic animals.
Beware of New Scam
ICE, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, is warning of a
new scam that is picking up speed and is coming out of all places, in the La
Reforma Penitentiary located in Alajuela.
ICE says that inmates at the prison are using public telephones to make
calls at random advising people that they have won a large prize. To claim
their prize they must purchase a calling card of 3.000 colones.
The caller advises that he will call back in a few days and will ask to
verify your purchase by giving the caller the telephone card's number. Once
the caller has the number, they now can use the card and have effectively
scammed or stolen from you.
An ICE spokesperson says that it's unlikely that any company will call and
ask that you buy a telephone card, especially to claim a prize.
Before falling to this type or any other type of telephone scam, always
verify who the caller is and where they are calling from, especially when it
involves a promotion or prize.
Pacheco's
Popularity Rebounds
It's been an uphill struggle, but slowly President Abel Pacheco's
image has shown improvement over the past year, gaining 4.7 percentage
points from last September, this according to a survey report by the daily
Spanish newspaper Al Día.
Last September, Pacheco's image was set at 52.4%, while this month it
reached a high of 57.1%.
The study took into account five aspects: leadership, values,
effectiveness, vision of the future and his ability to deliver a
message.
The survey done by the company Demoscopía took in consideration the
opinion of 1.200 people (18 years of age and older) between the 27th of
February and the 7th of March of this year, and has a margin of error of
2.4%. |
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The survey also showed the government's rebounding image where it is pegged
at 44.7%, up 3.4 percentage points, from 41.3% last September.
Press
Repression in West Condemned
Fear of terrorism, economic woes and gag laws are threatening
press freedoms across the Americas, the Inter American Press Association
said Monday.
"The right of citizens to seek and disseminate information, to express their
opinions and freely debate their agreements and disagreements is being
restricted," the IAPA, a continentwide organization of newspapers, concluded
in a report issued at the end of its midyear meeting.
According to the report, seven journalists have been killed in Brazil,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru, "most of them for
motives clearly connected to their profession," since the organization's
last meeting, held in Chicago in October.
"Investigative reporters and outspoken radio and television commentators
continue to be the main targets," the report said.
The report also criticized the detentions and arrests of journalists in Cuba
and Venezuela based on laws regarding security, privacy or contempt.
The report also noted that economic problems in the hemisphere further
hamper the ability of the press to operate effectively.
"Currency differences tend to make newsprint and other materials more
expensive and some governments, including Argentina, Venezuela and the
Dominican Republic, have exacerbated the situation by levying taxes on the
media or applying regulations that are costly to comply with," the IAPA
said.
The organization cited as a positive development a bill pending in Mexico's
congress that would require the federal government to take jurisdiction in
investigating and prosecuting assaults on journalists.
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Army Kills At
Least 22 Rebels in Southern Colombia
The army killed at least 22 guerrillas and captured 29 others in fighting
Monday in the southwestern and southeastern regions of Colombia, military
spokesmen said.
The clashes occurred in the jungle regions of Tolima and Guaviare provinces.
The most intense fighting took place in the mountains near the city of
Chaparral, in Tolima province, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of
Bogota.
The bulk of the fighting occurred in Las Hermosas, a canyon in the western
Colombian Andean range, officials said.
Fourteen Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas were
killed during the clashes there, regional military chief Gen. Lelio Fadul
said.
The army captured another 25 insurgents and rescued six people who had been
abducted by the rebel group, the official added.
Also, eight other FARC guerrillas were killed in separate clashes with one
of the army's mobile units in the jungle area near the town of Calamar, more
than 420 kilometers (261 miles) southeast of the Colombian capital.
There, another four rebels were captured, the unit's commander, Col. Pedro
Pablo Moreno, told reporters.
Fighting continued Monday in the regions where the leftist guerrillas
operate, although with less intensity, the official said.
The FARC controls drug trafficking in this area of the country, according to
Colombian authorities.
Chavez Inaugurates Venezuela’s First Major Employment Program
With a degree of control over the state oil company PDVSA not
seen since its nationalization in 1975, the Bolivarian Revolution finally
has funding for a historical step in its development mandate. Announced on
Friday, March 12, “Misión Vuelvan Caras” (Returning Faces) aims to create
1.2 million jobs within the year. ‘Misióneros’ will receive scholarships of
185 thousand Bolivars per month (about US$90) while they receive technical
training.
The program’s name comes from a slogan of Venezuela’s independence hero
Simon Bolivar, who used the term to refer to soldiers who returned to fight
in the independence war after having been temporarily defeated.
According to President Hugo Chavez Frias, “once (participants) begin to
produce, the scholarships will be stopped because they will already have
their own income.”
“This project,” continued Chavez, “forms part of a distinct vision more
progressive than the capitalist model. Today (Friday) we take a step forward
in the economic and social revolution.”
Priority for participation in the Misión will be given to graduates of
Venezuela’s educational development projects such as Misións Robinson I and
II, Sucre, and Ribas—free literacy and adult education projects begun in
2003.
Since the inauguration of “Plan Bolivar 2000,” military reservists and
active duty troops have been enlisted in development projects throughout the
country. As military Analyst Richard Millet noted at the time, the military
were one of the few resources available: “they’re already on the payroll,
they’re already in the places they need to be, and they’ve got discipline.
They may not be the first choice, but there is no second choice.” With the
announcement of Misión Vuelvan Caras, Venezuela’s un-, and under-employed
have become the first choice.
It is an important development in the Bolivarian project, allowing it to
significantly increase the involvement of civilians in the Bolivarian
revolution, while aiming at cutting unemployment down to 5% by 2005.
According to Luis Hernández, coordinator of the Asociación de Vecinos de
Puerto Fermín (Puerto Fermín Neighbourhood Association), “Misión Vuelvan
Caras is the continuation of initiatives of this Government dedicated to
building the capacities of the people that have traditionally been exluded,
where we all participate and decide what we want for our communities.”
In this first phase of Misión Vuelvan Caras priority will be given to the
Agricultural sector in order to address shortages throughout the country,
primarily in meat products. The shortage has recently forced the government
to import quantities of beef from Brazil and Argentina. In his weekly
address to the country ‘Aló Presidente’, Chavez declared that by importing
meat “we will destroy the backbone of speculators who are taking advantage
of the (meat shortage) in the country for political motives.”
Agriculture will account for 50 percent of the Misión, with Industry
accounting for 30%,
Dominicans and the U.S. Complete a Trade Deal
The Bush administration completed negotiations on a free trade
deal with the Dominican Republic on Monday, an accord that would remove
nearly all trade barriers over the next decade and allow it to become the
sixth nation to join a new Central American Free Trade Agreement.
The administration has promoted the regional trade agreement as an example
of Mr. Bush's response to the growing partisan debate about globalization
and whether it is to blame for the loss of millions of American jobs.
Robert B. Zoellick, the United States trade representative, said that a
solution to concerns about job losses was to open more foreign markets to
American goods and services through efforts like the Central American
agreement and ensure a level playing field for American products.
"We're willing to make the fight for this," Mr. Zoellick said.
If Congress approves the deal, the Dominican Republic would join Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua as part of the agreement. The
combined trade of these nations with the United States is about $32 billion
in goods a year.
After a series of missed deadlines, Mr. Zoellick has signed free trade deals
with eight countries in three months: the six in the Central American
agreement, plus Morocco and Australia.
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the presumptive Democratic nominee for
president, says the trade agreement fails to provide enough protection for
workers in all countries. Many Democrats in Congress, citing the same
argument, say they will try to block its passage unless additional
safeguards are included.
The administration disagrees, noting that the accord includes provisions for
the nations to make every effort to enforce domestic labor laws. With trade
a crucial issue in the presidential election, the debate over workers'
rights could doom passage of the measure this year.
Mr. Zoellick and Sonia Guzman, the secretary of commerce and industry of the
Dominican Republic, announced the accord at a news conference on Monday
after a weekend of negotiations over agricultural issues.
With the agreement, the Dominican Republic and the Central American nations
would open their service areas and agricultural products markets.
At the same time, the United States is resisting a full opening of its
borders to sensitive agricultural products like sugar.
The quotas for American meat and poultry exports to these countries will be
phased out over the next 15 to 20 years.
The new accord allows the Dominican Republic to increase its sugar exports
to the United States by 10 percent, but the sugar quota would remain in
perpetuity. This was too great a concession for some lawmakers from farm
states, who say they oppose offering any more openings to the American sugar
market.
The agreement is also intended to create something of a regional textile
free trade area and prepare the United States and Central America for
competition from China next year, when all global textile quotas are lifted.
By lifting all quotas with the countries in the Central American agreement,
the administration hopes to create an integrated industry or textile zone to
help protect cotton farmers and textile factories.
But the accords do not address the $19 billion a year in American
agricultural subsidies that underwrite cotton farmers.
Nearly three-fourths of the products from Central America already enter the
United States duty free under special preference programs.
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