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Sunday 16 March 2003
Surprise Heavy Showers in the Central
Valley
 A
heavy shower surprised San Jose Friday afternoon yesterday.
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No one was prepared for the heavy rain that
took San Jose by surprise.
Late Friday afternoon, west of San Jose to parts of Alajuela and Heredia,
were hit by a heavy downpour that lasted about one half hour.
The tensest situation were faced by neighbors of Pavas, where it was
reported a tornado cone to have formed. Fortunately, the phenomenon did
not touch earth, but the strong winds accompanied by intense rains
raised roofs of two houses and caused damage to several others.
TTI Telecom wins $11.7m contract in Costa Rica
TTI Team Telecom International (Nasdaq:
TTIL), a supplier of support systems for telecom service providers, today
announced it won a $11.7 million contract from Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE), the sole telecommunications provider in Costa Rica.
TTI Telecom previously announced this
agreement in an announcement dated January 29, in which it detailed $25
million in new contracts that were closed during the fourth quarter of
2002. The value of the agreement with ICE was not disclosed in the January
announcement.
Main suspect in U.S. student's death in
Costa Rica could go free
The main suspect in
the slaying here of a U.S. college student could go free next week if
formal charges are not brought against her, officials said Friday.
Next Thursday, Kattia Cruz will have been in prison for 18 months, the
maximum period under Costa Rican law that a suspect can remain detained
without being charged, said a court representative who spoke on customary
condition of anonymity.
The prosecutor in charge of the case, Erick Martinez, could not be
reached for comment Friday despite repeated calls to his office.
But the mother of the victim said in an interview with The Associated
Press on Friday that Martinez assured her he would present formal charges
next week.
Venezuela Strike Leader Gets Asylum in Costa Rica
CARACAS, Venezuela - A leader of a failed
two-month strike to oust President Hugo Chavez was granted political
asylum by Costa Rica on Friday, the Costa Rican foreign ministry said.
Labor union leader Carlos Ortega, who faces treason charges, entered
the embassy earlier Friday, Costa Rican Ambassador Ricardo Lisano said.
"For humanitarian reasons ... (Costa Rica) decided to grant asylum
and it has communicated as much to the Venezuelan government," the
Costa Rican foreign ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Ortega cited fear for his personal security when he
requested asylum. He had been in hiding since Feb. 20, after a judge
issued a warrant for his arrest for treason, rebellion and incitement.
Away on Business: Tips for Travelers
The world's most expensive city in which
to do business on the road is London, averaging nearly $500 a day in
hotel and meal costs, according to a new study.
The cheapest spot among major cities
globally is Johannesburg in South Africa, at a mere $140 daily.
The figures are the latest from
Runzheimer International, a Wisconsin-based management consulting firm.
The priciest cities in the top 10 after London along with the average
daily prices in U.S. dollars are; Geneva ($410), Moscow ($407), New York
($401), Amsterdam ($393), San Juan, Puerto Rico ($388), Tokyo ($374),
Boston ($358), Santiago, Chile ($351) and New Delhi ($350).
After Johannesburg, the cheapest venues
in ascending order are Adelaide, Australia ($154), Auckland, New Zealand
($154), Ottawa ($158), Vancouver, Canada ($159), Montreal ($164), Kuala
Lumpur ($165), San Jose, Costa Rica, ($174), Strasbourg, France ($175)
and Hamburg, Germany ($177).
A Bridge for "bets"
For four years, a financial operator in
Escazu, west of San José, paid electronic bets to the patrons of several sportbooks
operating in Costa Rica.
In that period, Vinir Financial Services (VFS) moved at least $120
million, according to the company's owner, Costa Rican Vinicio Esquivel.
He explained that he paid through banks abroad, therefore no money was
handled here.
Now the entrepreneur is hiding somewhere else in Central America and is
making efforts to pay $4.2 million that he owes to some of the sportbooks
whose payments he handled from March 1998 through November 2002.
According to Costa Rican regulations, even though the betting companies
can operate here, they can only serve as links - which means receiving and
processing data -, but they cannot bring funds nor checks used in the
bets. If they did, they would automatically be committing a crime
Heroin killed Tico "mule"
A woman identified as Maria de los
Angeles Quesada, 39, died in Caracas, Venezuela, when one of the heroin
pellets that she was carrying in her stomach dissolved and caused her a
massive poisoning.
According to Costa Rican law-enforcement agents, Quesada was under
surveillance, with the ultimate goal of being led by her - who was not
aware of the police awareness of her participation in drug smuggling - to
the larger organization to which she belonged.
Part of the evidence on her was prompted by her constant travels abroad,
the sources said.
Free trips to Hawaii, Mexico, and Costa Rica
SINCE THE giveaway happens on St.
Patrick’s Day (Mar 17), SunTrips thought it’d be cute to give folks
named Patrick, Patricia, or Green a leg-up on the competition by letting
them call in and book while the rest of us waste precious minutes mucking
about the SunTrips Web site to find the password.
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Click
to place YOUR AD here!
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The
Week in Review: 10 March 2003
to 15 March 2003
From
the Daily News! |
February inflation 0.81 percent
Propelled by the prices of bread, fuels, and dental care, the average price
index increased by 0.81 percent in February, according to the National
Statistics and Census Institute. Monday
Lower investment on tourism
From the boom in the construction of
hotels rooms in the 1990-1994 period - when 8,598 were built -, investment in
the tourist sector has been decreasing.
In the 1998-2002 period 1,781 rooms were built, but that figure has further
fallen to 163 only from May last year to the present. According to the chairman
of the Costa Rican Hotel Chamber, Agustin Monge, this means that the tourist
industry is "mortally wounded." Monday
RITEVE will change parameters to approve gas exhaust emission tests
The
new measurement benefits particularly the owners of older cars, that don't have
a catalyst installed. The change obeys an executive decree published last Friday
in La Gaceta, the official government newspaper. Monday
A milder El
Niño
The feared weather disturbance known as El
Niño has been influencing conditions in Costa Rica since July last year,
but it has been milder than earlier feared. As a consequence, in the current dry
season water-rationing has been limited, the production of hydroelectric power
has been normal, and farmers have not met major problems with irrigation.
Tuesday
AIDS: $4.2 million donation
The efforts to prevent more people from being infected with AIDS in Costa Rica
were boosted thanks to a $4.2 million donation from the Global Fund for the
Struggle against AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis, which collects private
donations in developed nations and with headquarters in Geneva,
Switzerland. Tuesday
Border micro-businesses
The residents in the traditionally impoverished border areas of the Central
American nations interested in developing small businesses or in strengthening
existing ones will now have the chance to do so, the Vice-Presidents of the
region asserted at a meeting in San José. Tuesday
Continued threat of strike by bus companies
Although
the government requested to the regulator, ARESEP, to define he increase in bus
tariffs, Hermann Hess will not yield to any pressure. This Wednesday morning at
Presidential House, criticism was voiced against the regulator. Thursday
Colombia Arrests Cali Cocaine Boss Again
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian police on
Wednesday arrested one of the country's most notorious drug lords, former Cali
cocaine cartel boss Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, just four months after he was
freed from prison by a controversial court ruling.
Thursday
Court Transfers Villalobos Brothers Money
Approximately $8 million, frozen in 23 banking
accounts of the companies related to Ofinter and "The Brothers", were
put in safekeeping of the Penal Court of San Jose.
Friday Owners
of bus companies committed to give service while minister of transports engages
in a dialog with the regulator
Thursday morning there were no buses in the streets of San Jose and other
communities, as the bus operators staged a strike to protest the high cost of
fuels and the refusal of the regulating authority, ARESEP, to hear approve
increase in tariffs.
Friday
Mother of U.S. student killed in Costa Rica offers reward for information
The mother of a
University of Kansas student stabbed to death in 2001 is offering a reward of up
to US$50,000 to anyone who has information about the slaying.
"I'm asking that the Costa Rican people help make sure this doesn't
happen again," Jeanette Stauffer told Costa Rican television station
Telenoticias. Friday
Free Bus
Rides Monday Morning!
Thursday
morning the bus companies stage a work stoppage in the early morning causing
many to find an alternative way to get to work or school.
Saturday
Mother of U.S. student slain in Costa Rica pleas for help
The mother of a U.S.
college student slain here nearly two years ago issued an urgent plea Friday for
help in finding a taxi driver who could be a crucial witness in the case. Saturday
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