San José, Costa Rica - Sunday 05 September 2004

1.234 Daily Average. Visits in August! Up 10%

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

Clowning at the mall. Mutliplaza Escazú, entertains children with clowns to attract customers to their mall, in competition for consumer dollars and the recent increase in the number of malls in the Central Valley. Click for larger image!

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

Former President Calderón Implicated in the Fischel-CCSS Scandal
Former president, Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier, has been implicated in the Fischel scandal, when "Telenoticias" aired a story tying Calderón to Wálter Reiche Fischel and the transfer of $440.500 dollars with the respect to the purchase of medical equipment for the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS).

Judge Rules Faiello to be Extradited
Dean Faiello, the New York quack doctor has moved a step closer to facing justice.

Environmental Leader
The United States acknowledges Costa Rica as a leader in environmental practices and laws, a nation that can generate a major exchange among countries in view of a Free Trade Agreement.

$335,000 Donation from Japan
The Government of Japan will donate Costa Rica $335,000, through the World Bank, as a contribution to the development of the Limon Port-City Project.

Less Practicing Catholics
A survey by the University of Costa Rica shows that, among the Catholic majority in Costa Rica, the number of those attending mass, going for confession, or partaking in the different ceremonies is decreasing.

Terry Fox Run Today!
The annual Terry Fox run will be held tomorrow in La Sabana park, starting at 8:00am. All proceeds from the run will go to the Terry Fox Foundation Click for more on Terry Fox.

Did you Know?
Costa Rica is located at the center of the American Continent, with coasts on both the Pacific and Caribbean, three volcanic mountain ranges and 12 climactic zones.

insidenicaragua
Former boxing champ arrested in Nicaragua
Former world boxing champion Ricardo Mayorga was arrested Friday on suspicion of rape, but released several hours later.

More Americans Retire to Central America
Central America may still conjure up images of right-wing dictators and left-wing insurgents.

Nicaragua Opens Two Geothermal Fields
The Nicaraguan government said Friday it is seeking bids for development of two geothermal fields that it believes can produce as much as 450 megawatts of energy.

Teachers go to school in Nicaragua
A dusty, potholed road led two Cape Henlopen School District teachers out of Managua to Naragote, where they met the two Nicaraguan students they had sponsored for years and prepared to share the tricks of the trade with teachers in a small, private mission school.

Death toll rises to 10 in eviction actions in Guatemala
Death toll from violent eviction actions by government security forces in a private estate in south Guatemala grew to 10 after a peasant's body was found on Friday, said reports reaching here from Guatemala City, capital of the Central American country.

Chilean president regrets deterioration of ties with Peru, Bolivia
Chilean president said Saturday he regretted the "deterioration" of his country's relations with Peru and Bolivia and called on the two neighboring nations to take a future-oriented approach in dealing with Chile.

Muslimeen leader buddies with Chavez
A relationship has developed between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, himself a former coup-leader, and Jamaat al Muslimeen leader and 1990 insurrectionist Yasin Abu Bakr.

International News from the New York Times
 

MEXICO: Wal-Mart, the Pyramids' New Neighbour Less than two km from the heart of the Mexican archaeological zone of Teotihuacan and its awe-inspiring pyramids, the U.S.-based retail giant Wal-Mart is overcoming the resistance of a group of local residents and, to the amazement of UNESCO, is building one of its hypermarkets. Wal-Mart's 652 stores in Mexico serve a total of 600 million customers a year and sell more than 12 billion dollars in retail goods. The new store going in near the Teotihuacan citadel, 50 km north of Mexico City, is 80 percent complete, and is being built on land where a vibrant culture whose history is still full of enigmas flourished hundreds of years ago. "We'll put a stop to this with demolition, because a transnational corporation can't just come and trample on our historical patrimony," Lorenzo Trujillo, head of the Civic Front for the Defence of the Valley of Teotihuacan, a group that represents some 100 local residents from the area around the world-renowned archaeological zone, told IPS.

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