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updated by 7:00 a.m. CST each day
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Two Dead
and Five More Wounded in Traffic Accidents
Two
people died and 5 more were wounded in two
separate accidents this weekend. The first
accident, taking place at 3:20am Saturday, 50
meters north of the Sata Clara gasoline station,
took the lives of 2 of the 4 passengers.
The deceased were identified as
Lizeth Pérez Vega,
33, and Adolfo Meza, 25. The other two
passengers were wounded
At 5:30am, in another traffic accident in
Montecillos de Alajuela, a minibus lost control
and fell into a river bank when the driver fell
asleep at the wheel.
Three people were wounded in the accident, one
of them remained pressed in the vehicle for some
minutes, until help arrived. All are in stable
condition in the hospital.
Demand
for Cellular Telephones and Cost Down
ICE - the state monopoly that provides telephone
service - recently announced a decrease in the
rates for cellular telephone services and became
official this week when it was published in the
official newspaper, La Gaceta.
The initial deposit required to obtain cellular
service is now ˘12.500 colones, down from
˘25.000 and ˘60.000 when cellular telephones
were introduced. The cost of calls from a
cellular telephone has also gown down.
The monthly rate is now ˘2.900 colones - or
US$7.17 at today's exchange rate - that includes
the first 60 minutes of call time (ICE only
charges for calls made and not calls received).
Yesterday, ICE management was surprised to see
the small demand for cellular service now that
the initial deposit was lowered. Some are
trading in their TDMA lines - the original
cellular service and where the higher deposit
was paid - for the new GSM service and hoping
that ICE will return their original deposit.
Lower
democracy quality
The
quality of Costa Rican democracy decreased
during the 12 months, but it maintains high
political indicators in Latin America.
Both deductions spring from the Latin American
Democratic Development Index, a comparative
study by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, from
Germany, and Polilat.com, an Argentine political
consulting organization.
The analysis includes observance of political
rights and civil liberties, institutional
quality and political efficiency, ability to
generate social welfare policies, and ability to
generate policies of economic efficiency.
According to the survey, in a 1 to 10 scale, the
performance of Costa Rican democracy averaged
7.8, as compared to 8.5 in the preceding
year.
However, this country remains among the top ones
in the 17 nations that were analyzed, and places
fourth behind Chile (10), Uruguay (9.7), and
Panama (8.0). The lowest ratings went to Ecuador
(2.8), Venezuela (2.6), and Paraguay (2.2).
Production
improves
According
to estimates from the Central Bank, the economy
of Costa Rica will grow more this year and in
2004 than in the preceding 3 years.
For the current period, the Gross Domestic
Product would increase by 5.3 percent, much more
than the 2.2 growth that was estimated last
December. The outlook for next year is also a
positive one, since a 4.3 percent growth is
expected.
The chairman of the Central Bank, Francisco de
Paula Gutierrez, pointed out that a larger
growth in production opens the opportunity for
more jobs and income for the population at
large.
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Chavez claims to have thwarted opposition provocation
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Saturday that he had managed to thwart a violent provocation by the opposition and pledged that he would be hard on those behind coup plots.
Celebrating the beginning of the second half of his tenure withthousands of supporters, Chavez said the opposition wanted the capital's police to provoke violence during a Wednesday march and then blame it on the government.
But the plan was thwarted thanks to the reinforced military vigilance over the Metropolitan Police subordinate to Caracas Mayor Aflredo Pena, one of his bitterest rivals, Chavez added.
Tens of thousands of Venezuelans marched Wednesday afternoon onLibertador Avenue, west of Caracas, in support of a recall referendum. Organizers said 600,000 people took part in the march,but government estimates put the number of participants at 50,000.
The referendum is the third attempt by Chavez opponents to ousthim after a failed coup in 2002 and a general strike earlier this year, which crippled the oil industry of the world's fifth oil exporter.
"The military was ordered to send in tanks before the slightestthreat against the people, and I swear they (the opposition) won'tbe able to do so again," Chavez told his supporters.
Countering the opposition march, tens of thousands of people gathered in downtown Caracas on Saturday to express their firm support to Chavez.
The pro-Chavez demonstration was guarded by 2,700 security and rescue personnel, with several elite snipers on the top of buildings, police said.
The opposition had turned in 3.2 million signatures to the National Electoral Council (CNE), Venezuela's top electoral authority, demanding a midterm referendum to oust Chavez, whom they blamed for the country's faltering economy.
But a ruling party lawmaker said Thursday that the opposition has missed the only chance to demand a referendum on an end to Chavez's presidency.
"They wasted their right to call for a revocation referendum against Chavez since they did not formally file an application to the CNE," the lawmaker added. Enditem
Japan has not set deadline for Fujimori's extradition
Japanese Ambassador to Peru Yubun Narita said his country has not set a deadline to respond to a petition presented by the Peruvian government for the extradition of ex-President Alberto Fujimori, the local press reported on Saturday.
"We have sent a diplomatic letter to the Peruvian government acknowledging the reception of the extradition petition and that it will be properly considered by the authorities," Narita said ina statement published by the press on Saturday.
Fujimori left Peru in November 2000 amid a serious political crisis, which toppled his decades-long rule, and went into exile in Japan. He is wanted by the Peruvian judiciary on charges of crimes against mankind.
Japan has refused to extradite Fujimori as it recognizes his Japanese citizenship. On July 31, the Peruvian government asked Japan to extradite the ex-president, who has dual Peruvian-Japanese citizenship, despite the fact that Tokyo, as a rule, doesnot extradite its citizens.
At the end of a work meeting on Friday with President Henry Pease of the Peruvian Congress, Narita told the press that the Fujimori case "must not affect the bilateral relations; we must make an effort not to affect them."
The ambassador said his government does not consider Fujimori as "politically persecuted." "We have never said so."
Colombian journalist killed by rebels
A Colombian journalist was shot dead and another was badly wounded Friday by the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), police said on Saturday.
Juan Carlos Benavides, 25, and his colleague Jaime Conardo bothwork for a community radio station in La Joya, the southwestern state of Putumayo, police said.
They rented a jeep and went to Puerto Asis for an interview with municipal officials there before being attacked by the FARC, the largest rebel group in the country, on the way to the city.
Benavides died on the spot and Conardo got shot in his abdomen.
Authorities were investigating the reason for the murder and checking if Benavides had received any death threats from the rebels.
With the death of Benavides, four journalists have been assassinated this year in Colombia.
The Colombian Press Association and the Foreign Press Association had condemned the attack and urged the Colombian government to take actions to protect journalists.
With 115 journalists killed in the last 14 years, Colombia is considered as "the most dangerous place for journalists."
Mexican navy to cordon off Cancun during WTO meeting
The Mexican navy announced on Saturday that it will cordon off the tourist resort of Cancun, in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, to prevent terrorists from attacking a ministerial conference of the World Trade
Organization(WTO).
"The possibility of terrorist acts taking place on urban and tourist infrastructure increases" and that would not only tarnish the image of the tourist resort, but of the country as a whole, the navy said.
It was reported that ministers from 146 countries will attend the meeting to be held from Sept. 10 to 14.
The navy has established two off-limit sea areas, which will cover respectively half a nautical mile from Sept. 1 to 15 and twonautical miles from Sept. 7 to 15.
No ships will be allowed to sail in the sea areas without the navy's approval.
Anti-globalization groups, which have held protests during WTO meetings in other parts of the world, are expected to do the same in Cancun.
Several weeks ago, Cancun already began to take security measures to ensure the safety of the representatives of the meeting from any possible terrorist attacks.
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