Priest Trial Begins; Sinaí
Verdict Expected Today
The
courtroom at the Tribunales de
Alajuela will packed this week
with some 19 witnesses who are
to be called to give testimony
against Catholic church priest,
Enrique Delgado, whose trial for
sexual abuse of minors begins
today.
The priest of is being tried for
nine counts of "delitos de
abusos deshonestos en contra de
menores de edad", accused of
abusing three youths who were
between the ages of 15 and 16 at
the time.
Delgado was arrested in November
of 2003. The alleged abuses
occurred in La Garita de
Alajuela where the priest lived.
The trial that gets underway
shortly after 8am this morning
is expected to last two weeks,
ending March 4.
And, a San José court will make
known the the fate of the Sinaí
Monge Muñoz shortly after 8am,
when the court is expected to
make it's ruling following two
weeks of trial.
The Fiscalía (prosecution) asked
for 16 years jail time for Sinaí,
as well as make restitution of
¢15 million colones for the
prostitution of minors.
Investigators had been on the
trails of the Madam for some
time and finally was arrested in
October of 2003, when an
undercover OIJ agent was able to
order a young girl from Sinaí
and take her to a motel where
the girls, according to police,
was ready, willing and able to
offer sexual services in
exchange for payment.
Foreign Minister Visits Israel
Costa Rica's Foreign Minister,
Roberto Tovar Faja, arrived in
Israel on February 20 for an
official visit, as a guest of
Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
During the course of the visit,
Tovar will meet with the
President of Israel Moshe Katsav,
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
Vice Premier Shimon Peres, Vice
Prime Minister and Minister of
Industry and Trade. He
will visit the Yad Vashem
Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes
Remembrance Authority and
Christian holy sites in
Jerusalem and the Galilee.
During the visit of the
minister, a Consultation
Agreement between the foreign
ministries of the two countries
will be signed along with an
International Cooperation
Agreement.
The two countries enjoy special
relations, in view of the
courageous decision of Costa
Rica to maintain its embassy in
Jerusalem, in spite of the
political pressures on it to
change this policy.
Four Dead in Traffic Accident in
Puntarenas
Transit officials and rescue
workers faced the gruesome task
of removing 4 bodies from a
fatal accident at 12:30am Sunday
morning 4 kilometers south of
Costa de Pájaros, Puntarenas,
when two vehicles collided.
The accident was so violent that
the vehicles left the roadway
hitting trees. Two occupants
traveling in a Hyundai died at
the scene, while a third
passenger is in serious
condition in hospital. The two
occupants of the Maza pick-up
truck died at the scene of the
accident as well.
Transit officials believe that
the vehicles were traveling in
the same direction and in the
their lane when the front
vehicle hit a cow in the road.
On braking, both vehicles lost
control, hit each other, rolled
over the cliff and hit a tree.
Transit officials believe that
the vehicles were traveling at a
high velocity and liquor may
have contributed to the severity
of the crash.
It's Customary To Be Late
A poll by the Spanish language
daily newspaper La Nación
reveals that 74% consider the "impunctuality"
by Costa Ricans known as "la
hora tica" to be a sign of
disrespect, while 26% of the 500
respondents don't see it as a
bad thing.
The poll shows that most - 83.4%
- said that they are willing to
wait or be late not more than 15
minutes. The poll also shows
that 16.6% are late for a work
related commitment, while only
8.7% for a social gathering.
The results also indicated that
those who are punctual are
considered have good manners and
responsible (94% and 84%
respectively).
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Lower
Trade Balance Deficit
Last year, the dollars paid for
goods and services abroad
surpassed those obtained from
exports by $890 million.
This
balance, which is defined as the
trade balance deficit,
represented 4.8 percent of the
Gross Domestic Product, and
lower than the 5 percent
expected, Central Bank president
Francisco Gutierrez said.
Thus,
2004 was the second year in a
row that the deficit decreases,
a fact hailed as a tool to lower
the vulnerability of the
country, meaning the risk of
running into major problems in
the case of a worsening of the
global economic environment.
Tourism, which reported income
for $1,586 million, played a
leading role in lowering the
deficit, according to analysts.
Agreement with European Union
Central America will ask the
European Union to start
negotiations for a Free Trade
Agreement between the two blocs
in May next year.
The proposal
- which Costa Rica supports - was
announced in Brussels by the
Vice-Minister of Trade of
Honduras Irving Guerrero.
Honduras temporarily chairs the
Central America Integration
System (SICA in Spanish). The
Vice-Minister of Foreign
Commerce of Costa Rica, Amparo
Pacheco, said that this year her
agency will focus on
establishing the conditions
prior to the start of the
negotiations.
With concern about
the time left, representatives
of the private sector warned
that there are many aspects
which have to be taken care of
before launching the
negotiations, in spite of the
importance they acknowledge the
European market has for them.
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