San José, Costa Rica -    Saturday 25 September 2004

1.234 Daily Average Visits in August! Up 10%

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

Tensing Gyatso, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet, will arrive in Costa Rica tomorrow for his second visit in the last fifteen years. His next visit will again be in 15 years. His Holiness, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 will meet with President Abel Pacheco and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Óscar Arias and will be in Costa Rica to promote peace and spirituality. Click for larger image!

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

FISCHEL-CAJA:
Anonymous Calls Results in Raid of Legal Offices of the Caja
Agents with the "Delitos Económicos" (Financial Crimes) section of the Organismo Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) raid the offices and car of the Legal Director of the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS), Rodrigo Cordero.

Private Sector Distancing Itself from Fischel
The scandal that has surrounded the Corporación Fischel, the Caja Costarricense del Seguros Social (CCSS) and the Finland credit loan, had not only been a focus of attention for the Ministerio Público, but for the private sector as well.

Consulting Firm Can't Account for $200K in Aid for Costa Rica
About $200,000 linked to a Japanese official development project in Costa Rica remains unaccounted for after it was paid to a major Japanese consulting company, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Saturday.

Two Elderly Women Murdered in their Home
Two elderly Costa Rican ladies were murdered in their own homes in Porvenir en la alameda N° 5 in Desamaparados yesterday, in what police believe the motive to have been robbery.

Kayaker Set to Begin Journey for Peace
After more than a year of planning and training, Carlos de la Fuente, a retired San Diego, California, a lawman and lawyer, will take to the sea today in a daring mission to draw attention to his concerns about environmental degradation and the ravages of war.

New Los Angeles Auxiliary a Native of Costa Rica
Pope John Paul II has appointed Monsignor Alexander Salazar, the 54-year-old vice chancellor of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, as auxiliary bishop.

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.

Venezuelan party quits opposition coalition
A Venezuelan party seceded from the opposition alliance, known as the Democratic Coordination, on Friday following an attempt in vain to oust President Hugo Chavez last month.

Brazil collects clothes, food for storm victims in Haiti
The Brazilian government asked on Friday its citizens to donate clothes and food for thousands of victims of Tropical Storm Jeanne in Haiti.

Four American countries to launch joint military exercises
Brazil, Chile, Argentina and the United States next week will launch joint military exercises dubbed as Salitre aimed at training the eventual coalition forces under the command of the United Nations, the Brazilian Air Force (BAF) has announced. 

International News from the New York Times
 

CORRUPTION-ARGENTINA: Local Residents Rebel Against Mayor Nearly six months after the federal government assumed direct rule of the northern Argentine province of Santiago del Estero, the residents of a small town in the region are threatening to stage a "popular uprising", demanding that the municipal government also be swept free of corrupt officials. The aim of the intervention by the government of President Néstor Kirchner is to dismantle a corruption-riddled family-based regime accused of brutal persecution of opponents and human rights violations, that ruled the province for over 50 years. "The intervention shook the people awake," Catholic nun Adriana Gómez, with the Hijas de María Auxiliadora Religious Community in the small town of Atamisqui, 130 km from the provincial capital, told IPS.

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