San José, Costa Rica -  Wednesday 15 September 2004

1.234 Daily Average. Visits in August! Up 10%

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

Emergency workers tend to mock injured in a plane crash drill at the Juan Santamaria airport. The administration of the airport, run by Alterra Partners Costa Rica, teamed up with the National Emergency Committee and the General Bureau of Civil Aviation to organize the event. It has been seven years since the last drill-evaluation. The International Civil Aviation Organization (IACO) requires the exercise be performed every two years. (AP [Foto: Mariano Matamoros) Click for larger image!

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

National Day of Independence for Costa Rica and Central America
The Republics of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all celebrate their National Day of Independence today.

Banco ELCA Depositors Get Paid, Almost
Good news for small depositors of  Banco ELCA. The Asociación Bancaria Costarricense (ABC), is fulfilling it's promise to make good on small deposits.

Twelve Years Prison for Influence Peddling
A new law approved yesterday pretends to punish up to 5 years of prison for the "traffic of influence". The law will sanction those who influence public officials, in delaying a decision, or giving a concession or contract or any public act.

Jewish New Year Begins Tonight
The Jewish New Year, 5765, is being celebrated all over the world tonight at sunset.

Did you Know?
The Eagle is not only a type of bird.
 

South America vows greater coordination against terrorism
Defense ministers of South America, who are in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, for a meeting on regional security, agreed Tuesday on greater coordination among military intelligence organizations for an efficient combat against terrorism.

Chilean police seize one ton of cocaine
The Metropolitan Anti-Narcotics Brigade of the Investigative Police of Chile seized one ton of high-purity cocaine Monday night, La Tercera daily reported Tuesday.

Venezuela denies negligence in human trafficking
Venezuela on Tuesday rejected an accusation made by the United States over alleged negligence in tackling human trafficking.

International News from the New York Times
 

POLITICS-CUBA: Americas Think Tank Blasts Bush Commission Report  A 10-member international task force of prominent analysts and former diplomats has warned that recommendations by a special commission on the Bush administration's plans for Cuba, released last May, ”will poorly serve U.S. interests in Cuba and the wider region”. In an open letter to the commission's co-chair, Secretary of State Colin Powell, the task force of the Inter-American Dialogue (IAD), a Washington-based think tank, charged that the report places a greater emphasis on ending the rule of President Fidel Castro than on ensuring a ”peaceful” transition process, which has long been officially stated U.S. policy. ”The Commission's report refers to a 'peaceful transition' in some instances, but the 'expeditious end of the Castro dictatorship' is used to describe the central objective of the U.S. government,” according to the letter, which noted further that ”many sections of the report appear to anticipate violence”.

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