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updated by 7:00 a.m. CST each day
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Police
Investigate Murder of Colombian Woman
The
woman, Alexandra Bolgarín, a 26 year old
Colombian, who came to Costa Rica 5 months ago,
was found Monday naked in her house with a blow
to the head.
The young woman lived in the house alone with
her two children. Apparently, a friend took take
of the children while Bolgarín worked nights at
a casino.
Neighbours interviewed, said they saw or hear
nothing strange. The told police that the woman
left for work as usual and that on the morning
the body was found, did not even hear the taxi
pull up.
A North American woman only identified as
Rebecca is the prime suspect in the case.
Apparently, the two women were lovers and the
Colombian woman had recently tried to end their
relationship. The two women worked together at
the same casino.
According to police, the Colombian woman died of
a gunshot wound to the head, confirmed by late
yesterday by a spokesperson at the morgue.
The woman does not have any family in Costa Rica
except her children, who are now in the hands of
PANI, the child welfare agency.
Police are investigating the death as a
homicide.
UCR Survey
Gives President Pacheco Red Card
The honeymoon between Don Abel Pacheco and Costa
Ricans did not pass the year, reveals a study
done by the Mathematics Department of the
University of Costa Rica.
Using Pacheco's repeated reference to a soccer
referee use of cards to flag bad plays, the UCR
survey team has given Pacheco a Red Card.
It appears that, the teacher's strike, the San
Juan river negotiations, the campaign funds
scandal and the support for the Iraq war gave
were the main factors for the low score.
During the first year in office, Don Abel's
popularity was at 72%, he has since lost 46
points, to a current low of 26%.
The survey was done at the beginning of June
2003 and 1.500 in 47 towns took part. This is
what they think:
- 65% think the government is running with
course
- 71% believe that the president says one
thing but does another
- 71% believe the current economic
policies of the government are increasing
poverty.
According to the experts, President Pacheco is
being badly advised, has not shown the
forcefulness of decision and has not tackled the
social problems of the country with all
seriousness.
Political Instability Knocks Confidence In Costa Rica, Panama
Bonds
High yielding government debt has lured international investors to buy some $1.37 billion in government-backed securities from Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Guatemala recently.
However, as elections approach in Panama, Guatemala, and El Salvador, and the Costa Rican government faces mounting opposition to fiscal reforms designed to rein in spiralling debt, political uncertainty in the region is rocking investor confidence.
"We're concerned about the region's outlook," Francis Rodilosso of hedge fund Van Eck Capital told Reuters, adding: "The fundamentals don't add up. If things start falling apart, everyone will try to exit at once."
Despite representing a higher risk, global investors have been attracted to Central American debt by yields of up to 9%, way above the 3% offered on US Treasuries. Enthusiasm for the region's bonds is beginning to wane however, especially in the light of a pledge by the Panamanian opposition PRD party to abandon an $80 million tax reform.
A large fiscal deficit in Costa Rica is also fuelling doubts over the country's ability to service its debt. Costa Rica sold $450 million worth of paper in January this year, and currently has a budget deficit equal to 5.4% of GDP, forecast to hit 6% by next year.
Similar concerns are being raised about Panama, which sold $275 million in bonds in February this year.
Dominican
Republic set for free trade talks with US
The Dominican Republic is preparing to start negotiating a free trade agreement with the US, following a recommendation last week by Robert Zoellick, the US trade representative, that the Caribbean state should be included in a facility being discussed by the US and a group of Central American countries.
Dominican officials and businessmen said a free trade agreement with Washington would significantly lift the economy of the US's biggest trading partner in the Caribbean.
Mr Zoellick said the administration planned to include the Caribbean state in an agreement being negotiated between Washington and five Central American nations: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
"Adding the Dominican Republic as a... partner would promote economic growth and further integration in the Caribbean by building on a successful agreement with Central America and by lending further momentum to concluding the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations by January 2005," Mr Zoellick said.
The Dominican Republic has been one of the fastest expanding economies in the hemisphere, averaging 6 per cent per year in the late 1990s, until it slowed after the September 11 2001 attacks on the US.
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Colombian president seeks resignations after bomb attacks
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe demanded on Monday the resignations of the military officers, on Monday, who failed to stop a wave of car bombings which killed eight and injured 22 over the weekend.
"There is full awareness that the commanders of brigade and battalion are doing their utmost. But in the case of those who aredoing poorly, the moment comes for them to resign," Uribe said after meeting military brass at the Defense Ministry.
The four-hour meeting was attended by Defense Minister Martha Ramirez, Joint Chief of Staff Jorge Mora and Army Commander CarlosOspina, as well as commanders of the air force and navy, Hector Velasco and Mauricio
Soto.
Military sources said they analyzed new measures to fight the new wave of "terrorist" attacks launched by the rebels during the first anniversary of Uribe taking office.
Curfews are expected to be imposed in the states of Arauca, Meta, Casanare and Caqueta as part of efforts to restore security there, said Defense Minister Ramirez.
Governors and mayors around the country have been asked to report the state of security in areas under their control, he added.
The leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was blamed for a string of bombings over the weekend.
A car bomb blew up on Sunday night in the town of San Martin, 200 km southeast of Bogota, leaving one dead and 19 wounded. Two other bomb attacks on Saturday and Friday killed six people, police said.
Colombia has been torn by conflict between rebels, illegal paramilitary groups and government forces. Thousands of civilians are killed every year in the decades-long civil war.
Argentine govt to investigate former president over bank accounts
Former Argentine President Carlos Menem said on Monday that he was suffering from "political persecution," facing the government intention to investigate him over two bank accounts in Switzerland.
Menem, who ruled Argentina from 1989 to 1999, said there exists"a move" by the present authorities against him and other politicians, members of the military and judges.
He made the remarks to the press while he was playing golf accompanied by Angel Mazza, the governor of La Rioja province, Menem's hometown in northwestern Argentina.
"It is a political persecution, but it seems all right for me that they do so," Menem said while commenting on the government attempt to investigate the presumed cases of corruption committed during his rule.
The government seeks to remove restrictions on two Swiss bank accounts in his name.
Menem, 72, participated in the April 27 elections and finished first in a close first-round vote. But his campaign had since failed to win wider support, mainly because of the corruption scandals that clouded his decade in power.
He abandoned the bid for a third term after polls showed that he would be beaten in a scheduled presidential runoff.
Heat wave death toll rises to 30 in Spain
The intense heat wave hitting Spain has led to the deaths of 30 people since Aug. 1, officials said on Monday.
According to National Meteorology Institute forecasts, temperatures will drop late this week, principally for northern communities of the country, but will rise at the beginning of nextweek to the typical levels of August for that part of the country.
However, the chief of the forecast department of the National Meteorology Institute, Angel Rivera, said a drop in temperatures would be slight all over the country.
He warned that during the coming hours, especially in the morning, the heat wave would regain force in the Iberian country. After several days in which top temperatures in Andalucia, Extremadura and parts of Galicia reached 40 degrees Celsius, the thermometers would rocket to 43 degrees, he added.
The majority of the dead over the past few days are older people. The persisting heat would affect grape yields, and the national wine production as well, said the Conference of Agricultural Cooperatives of Spain
(CCAE).
Italian minister to push for European anti-fire task force
Italian Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno said Monday he will push for the establishment of a European task force to fight fires.
In an interview published Monday in Italian daily newspaper La Stampa, the minister said agreeing to a protocol about mutual helpwith fires was a priority for the Italian six-month rotating presidency of the European Union.
Alemanno stressed that, given the inadequacy of the EU's current rapid reaction center, the new body's main responsibilities would be preventing blazes and fighting forest fires.
Among other things, the task force will be helped with satellite-guided equipment.
The minister added that the European Commission should draft a proposal on the issue for Council of Ministers to approve in a couple of weeks.
Alemanno also condemned arsonists that start the fires. However,he thought the weather was the main cause of the most serious blazes.
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