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updated by 7:00 a.m. CST each day
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Villalobos
Investors to Meet Today!
The UCCR has called on all Villalobos investors to
meet today, Sunday, at the Hotel Aurola Holiday Inn,
downtown San José, to listen to what their
attorney, José Miguel Villalobos, has to say in
person.
The UCCR is expecting to update the investors on
where legal matters stand and to make an additional
plea for more contributions to the legal fund.
"For those of you who are wondering why there seems to be
'no progress', allow me to explain that this matter has officially slowed down to a
'Legal Pace'. Lawyers among you know exactly what I mean. Filing briefs and submitting documents takes time and the courts only work at one speed; Low Gear!",
wrote Hank, a strong Villalobos supporter, wrote in
his latest mailing.
"It is VERY important to remember that this case is in its "Investigative Phase" and until this matter moves to the next phase, there is only so much to file and so much that can be effectively and legally done."
New Orleans to be site of CAFTA talks
New Orleans will host the 6th round of the
U.S .- Central American Free Trade Agreement negotiations from July 28 to Aug. 2.
Official representatives from each of the six countries forming the CAFTA region
- the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua
-– will be participating.
The business program includes a forum on July 29 at the World Trade Center, which offers a unique opportunity for U.S. and Central American executives to interact and learn more about CAFTA, as well as to visit several important port and airport sites in the New Orleans area.
Europe Gives the
Central Valley a Helping Hand
The European Commission will be donating 11 Million
Euros or more than 5.000 Million Colones to the
improvement of the urban system of the Central
Valley, it was announced this past Friday.
The aid is part of a five year project to increase
the effectiveness of the metropolitan are, to help
reduce costs and improve living conditions of the
urban population, as well as the administration of
local governments and institutions.
Seagoing
Drug Warehouse
The finding
of 1,300 kilos (2,826 pounds) of cocaine aboard a
Colombian fishing boat this week, made it evident
that drug-traffickers are changing their strategy
and are using such vessels as floating
warehouses.
The Costa Rican Minister of Public Security, Rogelio
Ramos, said that therefore law-enforcement agencies
have to adjust their tactics, and carefully search
fishing boats from now on.
A US Navy boat caught the drug boat in Costa Rican
territorial waters, and arrested the eight-man crew,
all Colombian and apparently new in the business.
The drug was hidden in a secret compartment and it
was only by accident that it was noticed when the
boat was searched for apparent illegal fishing in
Costa Rican waters.
The operation is part of the US - Costa Rica
anti-drug joint patrol agreement.
Costa Rica -
Canada on July 12
In
Foxboro, Massachusetts, the national soccer teams of
Costa Rica and Canada will play their first match in
the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup on July 12.
In the first round, Ticos and Canucks will also play
Cuba.
The top two teams will play a second round with the
two best from another group that also has Foxboro as
its venue and that includes the United States, El
Salvador, and Martinique.
Two semifinalists to will result from this second
round, and they will play the two best from the
other two groups in the Gold Cup, which will play in
Miami and Mexico City. Costa Rica with US Steve
Sampson as head coach are not at the top of their
condition because the tournament comes in the
off-season and just when the players are returning
from vacation, several of the players
admitted.
However, they asserted that they will put their best
effort to win their group in Foxboro.
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Colombian vice president unharmed in grenade explosion
An accidental explosion of a grenade scared Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos on Saturday, but did not cause any harm or damage, reports from Barranquilla said.
The vice president was speaking at a press conference in Barranquilla, capital of Atlantico state, when a grenade carried by one of his bodyguards dropped by accident and exploded, the reports said.
Santos and his delegation were reportedly frightened but no onewas hurt, local media quoted police sources as saying.
Once the situation was put under control, Santos and his delegation continued with their activities in Barranquilla, where President Alvaro Uribe escaped a terrorist attack during his election campaign last year, Atlantico Police Chief Luis
Estupinan,said.
Mexican extradites murderer to US
Mexico extradited a murderer, who was accused of killing a US citizen, to the United States on Saturday, the Attorney General's office said.
Humberto Iribe, a Mexican, in complicity with two US citizens, kidnapped Richard Post in an abandoned house at Tijuana, Mexico, in August 1998. They tied, beat up and tortured him for five daysbefore killing him.
Iribe was arrested in Mexico several days ago. He was handed over in Mexico City to US Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, who took him to Houston, Texas, where he will stand trial "for criminal association to cause physical damage on a foreign citizen."
Helicopter crash kills 5 in Brazil
A helicopter from Brazil's state-run petroleum company Petrobras crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, leaving at least five people dead, Brazil's television network TV Globo reported.
The report said the aircraft, used to pick up employees from petroleum rigs, tried to land on the Toisa Mariner oil platform when it bumped into a backstay of the vessel before exploding and falling into the sea. The helicopter sank within "a few minutes."
The accident happened in Campos Bay, about 111 km off the port of Macae and 190 km northeast of Rio.
Aboard the helicopter were at least three passengers besides the pilot and co-pilot, according to TV Globo. Other press reportssaid more people may have died in the crash.
One killed, four wounded in explosions in Chechnya
One person was killed and four others suffered injuries in two bomb explosions Sunday in Chechnya's capital city of Grozny, Interfax reported.
A mine explosion killed one and wounded three others when sappers were examining a road in the Leninsky district of
Grozny.
Another bomb exploded when policemen were patrolling the district. One policeman was injured and then sent to hospital, the Chechen Interior Ministry said.
Police have launched an operation to track down the organizers of the bombings.
Meanwhile, sappers had discovered and defused a powerful mine, made of 1.5 kilograms of explosives and metal objects, in the district.
Britain to introduce ID cards for people over 16
The British government has decided that everybody in Britain over the age of 16 will have to buy an identity card priced at nearly 40 pounds (about 65 US dollars), The Sunday Times newspaper reported.
The move is feared to spark outrage from Britain's civil liberties lobby, which has long campaigned against ID cards, and is also likely to provoke anger among voters who will object to being forced to pay for a new arm of state control, said the newspaper.
¡However, the move has found strong public support in the wake of terrorist alerts after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, British Home Secretary David Blunkett claimed. He is expected to announce the decision to parliament this month and to bring in legislation later this year.
"I believe that the case for introducing a universal identity card in the UK is overwhelming. The consultation exercise showed strong public support for a card scheme," Blunkett said earlier.
"Each card will contain biometric data, such as an image of a person's iris or fingerprint, so police and other authorities can confirm the holder's identity," The Sunday Times cited a leaked Home Office document.
"Although it will not be compulsory to carry the card at all times, as in some countries, anybody who is challenged may be required by police to produce it within a few days," it said.
Britons will be able to upgrade their passports or driving licenses to include the biometric data, but will have to pay an extra charge, said the report.
The card will be free for retired people over 75, for those with low incomes and for 16-year-olds. Anybody receiving benefits or retired but under 75 will pay five pounds (about 8 dollars). Others will have to pay 39 pounds (63 dollars) to cover the cost of the scheme.
The British government will hold information about the population on a central computer database, a move expected to further alarm civil liberties groups.
Eleven European Union member states have cards and in Germany, Spain, Greece and Belgium they are compulsory, according to the report.
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