San José, Costa Rica -    Monday 20 September 2004

1.234 Daily Average. Visits in August! Up 10%

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

PRETOMA. a Costa Rican non-profit, non-governmental, marine conservation organization, says that foreign vessel landings at private docks are a major concern due to the hundreds of tons of shark fins that these vessels land. The march was attended by students from schools in Puntarenas, national fishermen, members of the Puntarenas community, 15 NGOs as well as students and faculty from Costa Rica’s two largest universities. [Foto: PETROMA] Click for larger image!

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

Harris May be Extradited, Honduran Prosecutor Says
Ovidio Navarro, Honduras' prosecutor, informs that Honduras will ask for Bruce Harris' extradition if there is evidence that he committed a crime in that country.

Two Arabs Arrested with False Passports Heading for Canada
Costa Rican immigration officials yesterday alerted the FBI in the U.S. and Interpol of the arrival in Costa Rica of two Jordanian nationals, who were heading for Toronto, Canada, carrying false passports.

No Al Aleteo
Costa Ricans on Friday marched through the streets of Puntarenas, Costa Rica’s largest Pacific port, against shark finning and calling on Customs to enforce the national Customs law which says foreign vessels may not land at private docks.

Families Ask for Government Help Their Loved One in the Caymans
Hurricane Ivan has been the strongest of this hurricane season, whose path left destruction in at least 12 countries, including the Cayman Islands.

Did you Know?
Despite being one of the world’s most renowned and important coffee producers, most Costa Ricans haven’t tasted an espresso, mocha coffee or Iced Coffee!

Havel is a long-time ally of Cuban dissidents
Former Czech President Vaclav Havel has opened an international conference in Prague on promoting democracy in Cuba. He told delegates that Cuba's situation would change soon and that opponents to Fidel Castro's 45-year rule should prepare for the end of "dictatorship".

Colombia seizes Cali drug assets
Gilberto was called the chess player for his ability to outwit opponents
Colombia's authorities have begun the largest asset-seizure operation ever.
They are dismantling the criminal empire of brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela.

Police held over homeless murders
Two Brazilian policemen have been arrested on suspicion of murder following a wave of attacks on homeless people in Sao Paulo.

International News from the New York Times
 

Bumper Crop of Coffee Labels Coffee has helped provide water for José Felix Centeno Castillo's home, school for his nine children and a better life for his fellow farmers. Castillo and other members of his farming cooperative receive among the highest prices in the coffee industry — $1.61 a pound — for the beans they grow under towering trees on the volcano slopes of Ometepe Island. But don't look for a Fair Trade Certified label on the packages that carry Castillo's coffee. That coveted stamp of approval costs money — farmers pay at least 5 cents a pound for the label — and would shave hundreds of dollars from his co-op's annual earnings. The co-op's coffee, sold in the U.S. by a Bainbridge Island nonprofit group, is marketed as "fair-traded." It's a semantic difference that highlights a growing debate within the specialty-coffee industry about workers' wages and their quality of life.

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