Arias Ratified as PLN Candidate for the Presidential Race in 2006
It's official. Oscar Arias Sánchez was formally ratified as the presidential candidate for the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) in the 2006 elections.

Was it Wet Enough for You Yesterday?
Reports of water damage and heavy rains came in from all areas as the Central Valley (San José) and the North and Central Pacific areas were inundated with "aguaceros" - downpours - for most the day and into the night.

7.3% of Costa Rican Work Force is Made Up of Minors
The high cost of living in Costa Rica may be the cause of why 7.3% of the work force or 127.077 workers are children and adolescents.

Nicaragua Seen as Investment Hot Spot
What's the next 'it' country for American investors and companies?

Australian Dairy farmers Get Advice from Costa Rican Farmers
Visiting Latin American dairy farmers are doing it better than their Australian counterparts when it comes to dealing with supermarkets.

Prisoner Escapes La Reforma Using Visiting Day Crowds as Part of His Plan
Sunday visits at the La Reforma prison was interrupted yesterday morning when at 7:52am, Cuban prisoner Manuel Tata Rodríguez, who is in jail at the prison on a 11 year sentence for murder, escaped


LATIN AMERICA

Nicaraguan President Insists on OAS Intervention
President of Nicaragua Enrique Bolaños has insisted Sunday on demanding the presence of the Organization of American Status (OAS) in this country to settle the legal issue between the Executive and the Legislative powers.

US, Venezuela clash at OAS meeting
The US' call to support what they called "fragile" democracies in the West was immediately met by Venezuelan accusation of seeking to impose what they called a "global dictatorship."

Two tons of cocaine confiscated in Colombia
The Colombian army said on Sunday that its marine corps confiscated two tons of cocaine in the Pacific coast area with the help of the United States.

Miami FBI Let 9/11 Terrorists Free, Denounced Fidel Castro
The Miami office of the FBI centered on arresting five young Cuban men, while allowing the terrorists that carried out the vandalistic attacks on September 11, 2001, to freely train in South Florida for such horrendous acts of terror, Cuban President Fidel Castro affirmed.

MERCOSUR Summit to Welcome Eight Presidents
As many as eight presidents will attend the summit of the South Common Market (MERCOSUR) to be held here June 18-20, the bloc´s press office affirmed Sunday.

SPECIAL REPORTS

ENVIRONMENT DAY-CHILE:
'No Protection' from Transgenic Foods
Chile is ''totally legally unprotected'' when it comes to genetically modified organisms, and they are found in 50 to 60 percent of the processed food consumed in this country, Juan Carlos Cuchacovich, an activist with environmental watchdog Greenpeace, told IPS.