San José, Costa Rica - Friday 06 August 2004

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

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

"A tight squeeze". One of the many vehicular accidents that can be witnessed on the narrow streets of downtown San José, as large vehicles like the cement truck in the photo needs room to manouvre around the tight corners. Click for larger image!

EDITOR'S NOTE:
Insidecostarica.com will NOT publish Saturday the 7th & Sunday the 8th.

Mother's Day Next Sunday
Mother's Day in Costa Rica is quickly approaching - Sunday 15 August - and the sale of household appliances has gone through the roof. Rica.

Reconstructed Cell Phones Sold as "New"
The Asociación de Representantes de Vendedores de Celulares is charging that the market is full of 'reconstructed' cellular telephones that are being sold as "new".

27,500 Aliens Rejected
During the first six months this year, immigration authorities rejected 27,500 aliens who tried to enter Costa Rica illegally.

Exports Slow Down
The overall exports of Costa Rica amounted to $3,205 million the first six months this year.

Less Fuel Used
The consumption of fuels decreased by 10 percent in June, as compared to May, the Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (RECOPE in Spanish) reported.

New Synagogue for the "New Year"
This Rosh Hashanah, the Israeli-Zionist Center, Costa Rica’s most prominent synagogue, will welcome the new year in a new, spacious and — according to some observers — ostentatious new synagogue.

Olympic Soccer: "Sele" Game to be Broadcast Live
The Summer Olympics is all set to get under way next week and Costa Ricans will fixed to their television sets to watch their "sele" play.

News Briefs
In Ciudad Cortés (Osa, Puntarenas), a man sexually abused his 17 year old stepdaughter, then beat her and thinking she was dead, buried her alive.

Paraguayan president admits security defects in collapsed building Paraguayan president said Thursday that irregularities existed in the construction of the building, in which 504 people were killed in a weekend blaze on the outskirts of Asuncion, Paraguay's capital. Chile holds military drill near border with Peru Chile conducted a military drill near its border with Peru on Thursday against the background that the bilateral relations are in tension because of their dispute over maritime boundary. Brazil says no new nuclear inspections needed Brazil plans to convince within two months the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that there is no need to further inspect its nuclear program before issuing licenses to its two new uranium-enrichment plants, an official said on Thursday. Russia writes off Nicaragua's debt Russia and Nicaragua have signed an agreement to write off all the debt of the Central American country to Moscow, Russian news agencies reported Monday. International News from the New York Times

MIGRATION-CUBA: The Day the 'Hottest Summer' Exploded The Caribbean Sea is calm, the temperatures perhaps slightly higher, lengthy power outages are back again and tensions with Washington still mark the beat of life in Cuba. But though much is unchanged, things are far calmer on the migration front than they were a decade ago today. For some sectors of the population in this socialist Caribbean island nation, "leaving" is the only possible option, but, paradoxically, "staying" is just as firm a choice, regardless of whether they are passionate followers, critics or even open opponents of the government of Fidel Castro. Although some things still bring back memories of August 1994, the atmosphere is far less stormy and there is nothing in the offing to compare with what analysts classed as the "hottest summer" in Cuban history. COSTA RICA TRAVEL No Mans Land, Paso Canoas, Costa Rica The border crossing between Costa Rica and Panama has to be the least hospitable in Central America, if not in the entire continent. Today I crossed it on bus for the second time in a place called Paso Canoas (the passing of canoes) and I really wish I was passing gently down a serene river on a canoe instead of going through the red tape mayhem they have set out for tourists here.

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