National Emergency Declared in Forest Fire
A national emergency has been called for the area known as Cerro Dúrika en Buenos Aires de Puntarenas, where a forest fire has consumed more than 8.000 hectares. The fire has been burning since last Saturday.

On Wednesday authorities issued a 'green' alert for the area, however, yesterday, a national emergency was declared, which implies Costa Rica is asking the help of other countries.

Costa Rica is asking for help with helicopters from other Central American countries and the Unites States, along with additional fire fighting equipment. Allan Flores, vice-minister for the Environment and Energy, said that the helicopters will greatly help getting firefighters to the scene, where it can take from 8 - 10 hours to reach on foot.

To give an idea of much area the fire has destroyed, 8.000 hectares are about 125 times the size of La Sabana park in San José.
 

60% of Ticas Don't Have Orgams, Study Shows
Due to the last of a healthy sexual life, a recent study done by the Health Ministry and the Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres (INAMU), as a preamble to the upcoming National Congress On Human Sexuality which will be held at the Radisson Hotel on the 28th and 29th of April, shows that 60% of Costa Rican women do not have an orgasm, while 80% of Costa Rican men suffer from premature ejaculation.
 

Health vice-Minister, Eduardo López Cárdenas, released the results of the study this week, saying "it's the first time in Costa Rica that this type of study has been done. Sexual health is an integral part of life. If there isn't a good sexual health, there isn't a good quality of life." The vice-Minister added that sexual health helps couples get closer and reduce divorces. According to the experts, sex education from a young age helps prevent complications later in life. In men, the most common case is dysfunctional problems like erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.

Cárdenas added that an unhealthy sexual life between a couple can produce domestic problems, that can include domestic violence and other family problems. Health officials are worried, because many Costa Rican don't have a healthy sexual life.

The basis of the Congress is to better prepare professionals in understanding the reality that is being lived in the country and to bring face to the difficulties of the different sectors of the population. Attending the Congress will be experts from other Latin American countries, including Teresa Betallaluz, who is an expert on the subject of "Child Sex Tourism".
 

U.S. Seeks 'Point Man' in Fraud
A Sherwood Park, Alberta (Canada), man has been arrested and could be extradited to the U.S. on charges that he helped run a $90-million international Internet fraud.

Bryan Kufeldt is accused of being "point man" in Costa Rica for the Tri-West Investment Club, which in 1999-2001 allegedly lured about 15,000 people to put money into a fictitious "bank debenture trading program."

"Tri-West was operated as a vast Ponzi scheme, in which some Tri-West investor funds were used to make 'dividend' payments to earlier investors to give the false impression of profitability," FBI special agent John Boles says in an affidavit.

"The balance of investor funds were used to purchase millions of dollars of ... properties in Mexico and Costa Rica, a yacht, a helicopter, numerous late-model automobiles, and other luxury and personal items."

Victims from around the world were instructed by the company's website to send cheques or money orders to a Belize postal box, with the funds funnelled through banks in Mexico, Costa Rica, New York and Latvia.

About half the money was paid back to victims as referral fees or dividends to keep the scheme rolling, Boles says.

The club was created by former Edmonton, Alberta, resident Alyn Waage, who along with his son Cary and accomplice James Michael Webb pleaded guilty in California court last year to fraud and conspiracy charges.

They're awaiting sentencing. Officials have said the scheme used the Internet to recruit members with promises of 120-per-cent annual returns.

According to the FBI affidavit sworn last December, Waage moved the Tri-West operation to Costa Rica "because there was too much heat in Mexico," and in 2001 asked his old buddy Kufeldt to run the office for him.

The two men met in the 1970s, when they were involved in the trucking business, and remained in contact over the years, special agent Boles says.

Waage told American authorities Kufeldt was to be his "eyes and ears in Costa Rica," principally to ensure two other associates didn't steal from him.

While Waage didn't tell Kufeldt Tri-West was fraudulent, "he acknowledged that Kufeldt knew that Waage had been engaged in fraud for much of his life," Boles says.

Waage was arrested entering Mexico in April 2001 with up to $4.5 million US in cashier's cheques and money orders, but continued to e-mail Kufeldt business instructions from prison.

The one-time Edmonton real estate agent jumped bail four months later and fled to Costa Rica, where he was soon arrested and sent to the United States.

In December, Kufeldt was indicted in Sacramento, Calif., on fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges.

Last week, RCMP officers picked him up at the request of American officials.

The 64-year-old man lives with his wife Judy Ann on an acreage in Strathcona County, where he apparently runs a trucking or hauling business, according to an affidavit from RCMP Sgt. John Lovie.

Lovie says the couple lived in Costa Rica for about a year in 2001-02, running Tri-West while Waage was in custody. They returned to Canada after Waage and his other associates were arrested, Lovie says.

The allegations against Kufeldt are made in an affidavit and have not been proven in court. The officer claims Kufeldt may have the ability flee the country and live comfortably elsewhere using millions of dollars from Costa Rican bank accounts.

However, the prosecution agreed Monday to release him after he surrendered his passport and pledged his house to cover $125,000 bail. "I don't want to live here at the remand centre," Kufeldt told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Jack Watson during his first court appearance last week.

An extradition hearing is scheduled for May 17-18.
 

W.T.O. Rules U.S. Online Gambling Policy Violates Law
The World Trade Organization, in its first decision on an Internet-related dispute, has ignited a political, cultural and legal tinderbox by ruling that the United States policy prohibiting online gambling violates international trade law.

The ruling, issued by a W.T.O. panel on Wednesday, is being hailed by operators of online casinos based overseas as a major victory that could force America to liberalize laws outlawing their business.

But the Bush administration vowed to appeal the decision, and several members of Congress said they would rather have an international trade war or withdraw from future rounds of the World Trade Organization than have American social policy dictated from abroad.

The decision stems from a case brought to the W.T.O. in June 2003 by the tiny island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. The nation, which licenses 19 companies that offer sports betting and casino games like blackjack over the Internet, argued that United States trade policy does not prohibit cross-border gambling operations.

Antigua and Barbuda further argued that the United States would be hypocritical to do otherwise since it wants to allow American casino operations to operate land-based and Internet-based units overseas.

Under U.S. federal law, it is illegal to offer sports bets over the Internet or to operate other gambling operations not otherwise allowed by individual states. State laws vary widely, with some allowing specific forms of gambling within their borders. Some states criminalize the placing of a bet, but others, like New York, do not make it a crime to bet online.

Online casinos are typically based in Costa Rica or the Caribbean, but also in Britain. Their business continues to grow, but not nearly as fast as industry experts once projected; the slower growth has come in part because many banks do not allow their credit cards to be used to place bets.

Also, the Justice Department has begun to crack down on American broadcasters and publishers that advertise on behalf of online casinos. The crackdown, based on an untested legal theory that American companies are aiding an illegal enterprise, has limited the ability of online casinos to reach Americans.

Sebastian Sinclair, a research analyst who studies the Internet gambling industry, said he doubted the W.T.O. decision would affect America's internal policies and instead could strengthen the resolve of policy makers who want to see the activity prohibited. At the same time, he said the decision showed the gulf in policy on the issue between America and much of the world.

David Carruthers, chief executive of Betonsports.com, an Internet sports book operation and casino with headquarters in Costa Rica and back-office operations in Antigua and Barbuda, said he hoped the W.T.O. decision would lead to legalized online gambling in America.

In 2003, he said, his company took 33 million bets from people in North America, most of them in the United States. He said he had 1.2 million registered customers who are United States residents.

 

U.S. General Asks for More Troops in Colombia
The head of the U.S. Southern Command said Wednesday that an increase in the number of U.S. military advisors in Colombia will help to "deal a decisive blow to narco-terrorists" in the Andean region.

Gen. James Hill made these remarks during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee while Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, on an official visit here until Thursday, continued his campaign in Congress to extend Plan Colombia until 2009.

The Pentagon, the State Department and the relevant congressional committees are together considering the possibility of increasing the number of military advisors in Colombia from 400 to 800 and the number of civil contractors from 400 to 600.
Hill emphasized that while President George W. Bush's administration favors an increase in the maximum number of civilian and military advisors established under federal law, the U.S. will not have a direct role in Colombia's armed conflict.

According to law, the U.S. can provide only training and technical assistance to Colombia's military and police.

The general said it is "vital" that the accomplishments of Plan Colombia, which expires in September 2005, be reinforced and supported, hailing at the same time Uribe's efforts to put an end to drug trafficking and illegal armed groups in that country.

Uribe came into office in August 2002.

Hill added that if the current maximum number of U.S. military advisors in Colombia stays at the current levels, it could damage the mission against drug trafficking and insurgent groups, just when U.S. support of the plan "is beginning to pay huge dividends." Uribe, who kicked off a working visit to Washington on Monday, contends that Colombia needs more help from the U.S. because the "snake" of narco-terrorism is still alive.

Although words of praise for Uribe abounded in Congress, there is also skepticism over whether the Colombians themselves have made a strong enough effort or have given sufficient resources to Plan Colombia.

Some Democratic lawmakers and human rights activists said that in addition to not having decreased the flow of Colombian cocaine to the United States, Plan Colombia lacks the resources needed to pay for social programs and help populations displaced by the four-decade civil conflict.

From 2000 to date, the United States has contributed $3.2 billion to the struggle against narco-terrorism in Colombia, while Colombia's investment has been $6.5 billion - 8 percent of its gross domestic product.
 

IMF owns up to Argentina errors
The International Monetary Fund has owned up to making mistakes in dealing with Argentina's 2001 debt crisis.

In a discussion paper, the IMF said its surveillance had missed warning signs and had over-estimated growth and the success of economic reforms.

Argentina's debt default in 2001 triggered an economic crisis, pushing half the population into poverty.

The default cut off international lending until 2003, when a fresh $13.3bn IMF loan package was agreed.

Many Argentines still blame the IMF for their continuing problems.

The country repaid the Fund more than $3bn (£1.6bn) in arrears earlier in March, clearing the way for a fresh $3.1bn loan.

Over-optimism

The IMF's examination of what happened in the run up to the implosion in 2001 says there was no single cause.

The deteriorating state of public debt as off-budget spending swelled combined with institutional weaknesses and the rigidities imposed by the pegging of the peso to the US dollar, it found.

It also said private lenders continued to pour money in despite evidence of mounting problems following the onset of recession in 1998.

But the IMF admitted it, too, failed to see the problems that lay ahead for a country which - till the meltdown - was often seen as an exemplar of IMF-mandated economic reform.

One problem, the discussion paper acknowledges, is that it failed to see how the actual structure of the Argentine economy was combining with the reform process.

Lessons could be learnt to help the Fund deal with future crises, it said, including paying more attention to the effect of exchange rates.

Argentina still owes about $88bn to private foreign creditors, and negotiations are proceeding slowly despite IMF pressure.