Semana Santa
underway!
The bus stops and the highways that lead to the beaches are getting busy
as many traditionally leave San Josι for Semana Santa.
Typically, the big exodus doesn't take place until Wednesday night,
however, this year, with the government's decision to give all public
employees the entire week, the trip out of San Josι began Friday.
The bus companies have added more buses to their routes and leaving more
frequency to handle the increased demand for this week. For example, at
the Gran Terminal del , where buses to the Caribbean side usually run
every 30-45 minutes, since Friday they have been running every 15
minutes.
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March inflation 0.65 percent
The index of consumer prices in Costa
Rica increased 0.65 percent increase last month, as compared to
February, according to the National Statistics and Census
Institute.
The overall figure for this year's first quarter thus went up to 2.12,
yet lower than the one for the same period in 2002, 2.37 percent.
Central American tourists
Tourism sector representatives asked the Government to extend from 48 to
72 hours the in-transit period for foreign visitors. This way, they aim
at attracting tourists from Central America, who would compensate for
the drop in visitors - mainly from the US - resulting from the war
in Iraq.
If allowed to stay 72 hours in transit, passengers could enjoy a
three-day visit here and would not be charged the $26 departure tax that
all travelers must pay at Juan Santamaria International Airport.
According to sector sources, a drop in the number of visitors is
starting to show and is expected to increase steadily.
Privatization not a must
In the third round of the
US-Central America talks leading to the negotiation of a free trade
agreement, the US chief negotiator, Regina Vargo, said that to accept
her proposal in the telecommunications sector it is not a must for Costa
Rica to privatize it.
However, she pointed out that more opportunities have to be made
available for the private sector to invest in it. Washington presented a
proposal to open the telecommunications sector in the five Central
American countries through an inter-connection system, in which a
private operator would buy the service from the state or private
organization that manages it.
On the other hand, Vargo made it clear that everything is subject to
negotiation. This applies to services, including telecommunications, and
agriculture, where the Central American private sectors are discussing
the convenience of asking or ignoring exclusions from an eventual free
trade agreement.
Coffee Internet auction
The best coffee of Costa Rica will be offered in an international
auction via the Internet. Called Golden Crop 2003, the activity is set
for next May 15. It is co-sponsored by the Coffee Institute of Costa
Rica and the Costa Rican Association of Fine Coffees.
Indian women request asylum
Four Honduran Indian women requested political asylum at the Costa Rican
embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The women claim that they are
persecuted because of a dispute over the ownership of land.
The Costa Rican ambassador to Honduras, Edgar Garcνa, said that the
request is under study and the embassy was closed until things clear up
Cuba sends unequivocal message with
execution of hijackers, crackdown
HAVANA (AFP) - Amid an international outcry
over its crackdown on dissidents, Cuba sent a clear message to anyone
who would destabilize the regime from within, summarily executing three
men who tried to hijack a ferry to get to the United States.
An official statement said the men were tried "with full respect
for their ... basic rights," convicted Tuesday and shot dead at
dawn Friday.
Another four of the men involved in the hijacking of the ferry with
some 40 people aboard were sentenced to life in jail, and one man to 30
years in prison. The three women who took part were sentenced to five,
three and two years respectively.
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