San José, Costa Rica - Sunday 22 August 2004

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

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

A recent trip to Granada, Nicaragua, the oldest colonial city founded in Central America, prompted a new weekly feature on InsideCostaRica. Granada located beside Big Lake Nicaragua, was the main center of commerce due to the connection of Big Lake Nicaragua with the Caribbean Sea and just 18 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish conquerors left the proof of their dominion as Granada still keeps the original colonial houses and public buildings of that time. Click for larger image!

Inside Nicaragua  NEW! A new weekly feature published on Sundays, featuring a summary  of current news and events in Nicaragua.

Union Leaders Aim to Bring Country to Standstill
Unions are threatening that if the government doesn't sit down to talk, the strike will continue beyond tomorrow and within a few days, they will bring the country to standstill.

ICE Cuts 15.000 Cellular Lines per Month
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the state monopoly on telecommunications, says that each month it has to cut service to about 15.000 cellular telephone customers for failure to make their payments.

Women Better "Mules"
What was almost an exclusive activity of men, the illegal transportation of drugs across borders, has now become a real headache for Costa Rican police, as more women have taken up the trade.

Lack of Interest in Politics
A recent survey by UNIMER for the daily La Nación reveals the feelings of Costa Ricans towards politics, which are basically "lack of interest", "indifference", and "despair".

Satisfaction with Democracy Ebbs
Costa Ricans continue trusting democracy as the best system of government. However, the degree of satisfaction decreased along the last year.

Venezuelan opposition rejects referendum validation results
Venezuela's opposition on Saturday rejected an internationally recognized validation of the referendum won by President Hugo Chavez last Sunday and demanded an "integral auditing" of the votes.

Uruguayan ruling party confirms presidential candidate
Uruguay's ruling Colorado Party(PC) confirmed on Saturday that Guillermo Stirling, former interior minister, was named candidate for the presidential election slated for Oct. 31.

Paraguayan supermarket fire affects 1,000 families
The fire in a supermarket on the outskirts of Asuncion, capital of Paraguay, left at least 1,000 families affected for the death, disappearance and injuries of their relatives.

International News from the New York Times
 

THE INTERNET

Messaging Spam Heads for Your PC As internet firms are doing all they can to combat junk e-mail, a new form of virtual irritation is emerging. Called "spim", it is similar in design to spam. But instead of attacking your inbox, it works through instant messaging (IM) services.