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Restaurant for Animals
For many,
a pet is more than just an animal, but a friend
and companion. With this idea, at a restaurant
in San Antonio De Belén, minutes west of San
José, you take your pet and invite to a meal
and something to drink.
The Pet Café is located 400 meters West of the
Municipal offices in downtown San Antonio de
Belén
Juan Carlos Fallas Muńoz, a veterinary doctor,
explains that "one of the most important
aspects for us was to create a place were our
clients can publicly share with their
pets".
The Pet Café is next to his veterinary office,
so that customers have a place to go - with
their pets - while waiting.
Former Nicaraguan president to be taken to high-security prison
Former Nicaraguan president Arnoldo
Aleman, who is under house arrest, will be moved to a high-security jail, the judge in charge of his case said Saturday.
Judge Juana Mendez, head of the First Criminal Tribunal of Managua, ruled that this measure will become effective by Monday at the latest.
After being dismissed as president of Congress and later stripped of immunity from criminal prosecution as legislator, the 57-year-old Aleman was placed under house arrest in December 2002,accused of money laundering, embezzlement of public funds and criminal association.
Mendez said putting Aleman under house arrest "weakens the administration and custody of inmates in general" and produces huge budget expenditures.
According to Mendez, the ex-president will soon be taken from his El Chile rural estate to the Criminal Investigation Direction
(DIC) of the national police.
Aleman's prison cell has been prepared with every security measure in place. The doctor of the former head of state will be able to visit him at any time, and medical facilities are also available in prison, Mendez said.
The judge believed that in two months she will hand down a sentence on the Aleman case, because the process is at its final stage.
Air France copilot arrested for joking about bomb
An Air France copilot was put in police custody Saturday after allegedly telling a security screener at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport that he had a bomb in his shoe.
Philippe Rivere, 50, was arrested moments after the incident onFriday night, said spokesman Tony Ciavolella of the Port Authority,which operates the airport. Rivere faces charges of falsely reporting an incident in the first and second degree. The top charge, a felony, carries a maximum prison term of seven years.
Rivere, who was to copilot Air France Flight 9 from JFK to Paris, was going through the security checkpoint in Terminal One when he allegedly said he had a bomb in his shoe, Ciavolella said.The spokesman, however, would not say whether Rivere was joking or not.
One Air France passenger said that one of the copilots apparently got testy at the security and did not like getting searched so much, and said he had a bomb on him.
Airport regulations prohibit people in security areas from referring to terrorist-related subjects, even in jest.
Port Authority police immediately took Rivere into custody and after examining his shoes, determined that Rivere did not have explosives, Ciavolella said.
The Air France plane was also searched, and Flight 9, which wassupposed to leave JFK at 11 p.m. Friday, was canceled. The flight left the airport Saturday morning. Rivere remained in custody awaiting arraignment Saturday afternoon.
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Colombian army rescues two kidnapped engineers
Colombian army rescued on Saturday two engineers who were kidnapped by National Liberation Army (ELN)rebels last month.
The rescued engineers are Juan Uribe, 27, and Alberto Rojas, 57.They were kidnapped with two other engineers when traveling to thenorthern Colombian state of Cesar in mid-July.
The rescue was accomplished by members of the military and a group of investigators at the site known as Norean in the rural area of Aguachica municipality, said General Jairo Duvan Pineda, commander of the Fifth Army Brigade.
However, the other two engineers, named Alexander Rosado and Felix Vides, remained in captivity of the 4,500-strong guerrilla group, he added.
Argentina's public debts reach 145 billion US dollars
Argentina's public debts reached 145 billion US dollars by March 31, a little more than the country's gross domestic product in a single year, local press quoted the Economy Ministry as saying Saturday.
Argentina's major creditors are international financial organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
The Argentine government is seeking to reschedule the debts with the creditors. The Economy Ministry has promised to present next month a proposal for the reduction of its debt with the
IMF.
Fujimori says he will return to Peruvian politics
Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori said on Saturday that he would return to political life in Peru and eyes for the 2006 elections, according to reports reaching here.
"My return will be decided by the Peruvian people," said Fujimori, who has lived in Japan since November 2000 amid a serious political crisis that led to the end of his decade-long rule.
Fujimori said he sought to return to Peruvian politics in 2006 although the Peruvian government prohibited him from doing that.
Peruvian prosecutors asked Japan in late July to extradite Fujimori to face charges including murders and kidnappings. Japan has signaled it would reject Peru's request because there is no extradition treaty between the two countries. Fujimori holds dual nationalities.
Truck-bomb explosion kills one in Colombia
A truck loaded with explosives was detonated Saturday outside a highway toll station near Bogota, leaving one person dead and another injured, police said.
Police Colonel Alejandro Callejas said the man who was killed had been working on the highway, and the injured was a police officer.
The truck exploded when it was being weighed near the toll station, between Bogota and Villavicencio, near Une of Cundinamarca state. The driver of the truck ran away before the explosion.
Authorities blamed rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel force, for the attack.
In an earlier incident on Friday, a car bomb killed five peoplein oil-producing Saravena, in the northeastern Arauca state, whereleftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary forces are fighting over oil.
US Special Forces are also deployed in Saravena and nearby areas to train local troops to combat rebels and defend oil pipelines from sabotage.
Colombia has been torn by severe conflicts between rebels, illegal paramilitary groups and government forces for decades. Thousands of civilians are killed every year in the civil war.
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