San José, Costa Rica - Thursday 09 September 2004

1.234 Daily Average. Visits in August! Up 10%

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

¡GANAMOS! - We Won! was the major headline in this morning's Spanish daily press. The the announcement of more cabinet defections came in second. Costa Rica beat Canada in last night's CONCACAF qualifying for the World Cup in 2006. The game was a must win for either team, as Canada now needs to win it's next three games to stay alive in the competition. Click for larger image!

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

More Cabinet Defections
While President Abel Pacheco continues to re-assure Costa Ricans that there is no crisis, Wednesday two more ministers resigned.

Eliseo Vargas Ordered to Six Months Detention
Eliseo Vargas Garcia, former president of the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS), will spend the next six months in preventive detention.

Pedophile Arrested
The Unidad Contra la Explotación Sexual del Ministerio de Seguridad Pública under the direction of the Fiscalía de Delitos Sexuales de San José, arrested a 42 year old man identified only by his last name, Rodríguez, for having sexual relations with minors.

CONCACAF SOCCER:
Costa Rica Beats Canada
There was nothing disputable about Costa Rica's 1-0 win in World Cup soccer qualifying on Wednesday, effectively sounding the death knell for Canada's chances of advancing to the next round.

Did you Know?
That for decades Costa Rica had stood out for its relative stability and benefited from the most developed welfare system in Central America.

August in Honduras: One Conviction; 27 Children and Youth Murdered
In what has become an ongoing litany of death, another 27 children and youth under the age of 23 were murdered during the month of August 2004 in this Central American country of less than six million people.

Annan: Latin America needs more democracy
here exists in some Latin American countries the temptation of going back to authoritarianism and the region "needs more democracy", UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday.

Mercosur states discuss military cooperation
The commanders of the armed forces from the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) member states met Wednesday in the Argentine city of Bariloche to discuss military cooperation inside the regional bloc.

International News from the New York Times
 

LATIN AMERICA: Small Companies Far from Meeting 'Green' Standards Slowly, the biggest companies in Latin America are adopting environmental regulations to measure and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change. But for small and medium businesses, which are the majority, the issue is barely on the horizon. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) applauded the Mexican government and business sector for adopting in August a voluntary programme to measure and reduce emissions of gases like carbon dioxide that contribute to global climate change. Mexico, with a population of 110 million, is responsible for an estimated 1.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

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