San José, Costa Rica -    Friday 24 September 2004

1.234 Daily Average Visits in August! Up 10%

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

Costa Rican President, Abel Pacheco, stands at the side of newly elected Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Dr. Miguel Angel Rodríguez, at the Special Meeting of the Permanent Council on the Occasion of the Assumption of office by the former president of Costa Rica. Click for larger image!

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

FISCHEL-CAJA:
Emilio Bruce Impeded from Leaving Costa Rica
Following two days of sifting and packing, the Fiscalía, OIJ agents and members of the Ministerio de Hacienda (Revenue), completed their raid on the offices of the Corporación Fischel in downtown San José, loading hundreds of boxes of documents and computers to waiting trucks.

CCSS Investigates Manager's Meeting
In an attempt to make the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) more transparent, it's current president, Alberto Sáenz, is looking into the imprudent act of Juan Luis Delgado, manager of pensions for the CCSS, into a meeting last month between former manager of the Caja, Juan Carlos Sánchez, and former CCSS president, Eliseo Vargas.

Bruce Harris Leaves Costa Rica
The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería confirmed that Bruce Harris, former director of Casa Alianza, left Costa Rica last Sunday on a 7:30 am flight to Miami.

Costa Ricans Meditate with Tibetan Monks ahead of Dalai Lama Visit
Locals of different religious backgrounds gathered to meditate with three Tibetan monks visiting Costa Rica in preparation for the arrival of the Dalai Lama, who begins a visit here on Sunday.

Rodriguez Takes Over at OAS
Former Costa Rican President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez took office as Secretary General of the 35-nation Organization of American States, declaring that the foremost challenge facing the Americas is to fight pervasive poverty.

Exports to Mexico
Costa Rican exports to Mexico grew 676 percent between 1995 - when a Free Trade Agreement was signed between the two nations - and last year, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

BUSINESS
Banco Nacional Takes Over at BICSA
The Banco Nacional (BNCR) - a state controlled bank - has announced it will take over the operations of the Banco Internacional de Costa Rica (BICSA). The BICSA name and logo will continue.

Did you Know?
There are 40.000 potholes in Costa Rica.

Ex-Nicaraguan president launders 54 million dollars in Panama
Former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman and his partners laundered about 54 million US dollars in Panamanian banks, Attorney General of Nicaragua Alberto Novoa said Thursday.

Salvadorian president accused of supporting Taiwan independence
El Salvador's major opposition in a statement Thursday accused President Elias AntonioSaca of supporting Taiwan independence at a United Nations session.

Colombian govt confirms release of businessman kidnapped by FARC
The Colombian government Thursday confirmed the release of Juan Carlos Andrade, director of the municipal firm Aseo de Florida, who was kidnapped by the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Friday.

Peru renews request for Japan to extradite Fujimori
Peru will file a new request for Japan to extradite Alberto Fujimori, who is accused of human rights abuses during his 10 years as president of Peru, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo said Thursday.

International News from the New York Times
 

MUSIC-MEXICO: Gloria Trevi Pardoned by Courts - and the Media After almost five years in prison, Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi has suddenly become a hot commodity once again, with offers pouring in from television networks, publishers and record labels. It is an abrupt about-face for many of them, who actively and gleefully demonised the singer during her legal struggles. Trevi, who was charged with kidnapping, rape and corruption of minors, was granted a full acquittal by a Mexican judge and released on Tuesday. She had been behind bars since January 2000, when she was arrested in Brazil at the request of Mexican authorities. She remained in prison there until late 2002, when she was extradited to Mexico.

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