San José, Costa Rica - Friday 13 August 2004

1.116 Unique Visitors Daily Average in July!  What's This? 

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

Ramon Rodriguez, left, director of the Domican Republic Police, and Valentin Vicioso, center, secretary national of the Domican Republic Police, Carlos Bares, right, director of the Panamanian Police, speak at the Conference of Police Directors of Central America and the Dominican Republic in San Jose. [Foto: AP Photo/Kent Gilbert] Click for larger image!

Deposit Insurance May Soon be Reality
Following the rumour that spread like wildfire at BAC San José at the beginning of the week, that led many to withdraw their savings from the bank, financial authorities are looking at the possibility of introducing an insurance policy that would cover deposits.

BCR Announces 1% Cash Back for Using Debit Card
The Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), a national bank, in an attempt to lure more customers is the first Costa Rican bank to introduce a cash back credit to customers who use the bank's debit card rather than pay for cash.

Exports Increase, in Spite of Intel
The exports of pineapple, cantaloupe, and medical supplies manufactured at free zone industries are saving the day for Costa Rican sales abroad, which suffer a drop in the exports of high-technology products from Intel.

Inflation Accelerated in July
The index of consumer prices increased 1.30 percent in July, therefore taking the cumulate inflation for the first seven months this year to 7.64 percent.

"Colibri" Public Phones Now Easier to Use
Ever tried to use one of ICE's prepaid calling cards at a public telephone? It can be frustrating at best. Well, ICE is now making it easier, by installing optical readers on it's "Colibri" telephones.

Olympics Soccer: Morocco and Costa Rica Tie
Very few spectators turned up in Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion for the encounter between Costa Rica and Morocco, and the desolate atmosphere seemed to have an effect on the players, who never really got going.

News Briefs
The Juan Santamaria international airport was closed for eight hours from 10pm last night to 6am this morning, to allow the returning air traffic controllers to take stock of their stations and get things back to normal.

Chavez at eye of storm
Every Sunday, the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez holds court on his live TV show, Alo Presidente (Hello President).

Chavez says victory in referendum "inevitable"
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stressed Thursday that his victory in Sunday's recall referendum will be "inevitable", and he will thwart the "operations" of the United States in the South American country.

1 million ordered to evacuate as hurricane threatens Florida
Officials in the southeastern US state of Florida on Thursday warned about a million residents and tourists to get out of the way of Hurricane Charley, which has brewed off the coast of Cuba and threatened to strengthen, possibly within the next 24 hours, media reports said.

Hurricane Charley forces 200,000 Cubans to flee
The Cuban government ordered over 200,000 residents and 2,000 foreign tourists to evacuate Thursday with the arrival of Hurricane Charley, according to local reports.

Colombian police confiscate 1.2 tons of cocaine
The Colombian police confiscated 1.2 tons of cocaine and captured two drug traffickers in an anti-drug sweep on Thursday in the capital city of Bogota, a spokesman for the police told the press.  

International News from the New York Times
 

SPECIAL REPORTS In Nicaragua, a community that  fled Sandinistas makes a return About two dozen people have gathered at the home of plastics maker Max Najman for Sabbath dinner, a rather mundane occurrence in most places but a remarkable breakthrough here. After Nicaragua’s entire Jewish population fled the country in the early 1980s, the friendly and casual meetings that take place at the Najman house every Friday night represent a renaissance of Judaism. Following years of revolution and civil war, the return of some Jewish practices to Nicaragua is yet another sign of the country’s emergence from the shadow of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, the only successful guerrilla triumph in the Americas aside from Fidel Castro’s in Cuba.

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