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updated by 7:00 a.m. CST each day
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Little Katia Was
Asphyxiated
A preliminary forensic examination reveals that the
8 year old girl Katia Vanesa González Juárez was
asphyxiated by her assassin, as a possible cause of
death.
The
little girl died the day of her disappearance
and the body was buried under a floor board in
the house were the two accused lived, shortly
after killing her, according to director of
the OIJ, Jorge Rojas.
There appears no signs of a sexual attack,
leading us to believe that the little girl was
choked to avoid being discovered by neigbours. |
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Two men, Edwin Sánchez
Madriga, 37, and Rubén Delgado Barboza, 52 - were
detained in an early morning raid Thursday. Both
have a criminal past. One of them, committed a
similar crime some 20 years ago in Los Lagos de
Heredia.
One of the men, Sanchez, was order by a judge to
remain preventive custody for siz months, on the
charge of homicide, while the other was released
demonstrating to the courts that he was at the
dentist at the time of the murder.
A funeral was held yesterday, as hundreds of family
and friends attended.
Suspect tried
to commit suicide last night
The main
suspect in the murder ofl Katia Vanesa González Juárez,
tried to commit suicide last night in a special,
private cell, that was assigned to him in the Unit
of Admissions at San Sebastián jail, located to the
south of the capital.
Sanchez hung himself
with a t-shirt at about 8 p. m., but seconds later
she was discovered by guards.
He was transferred immediately to the San Juan de
Dios hospital where he was evaluated by medial
personnel. At 9:15pm he was returned to the jail.
According to jail officials, Sanchez was placed in a
private cell because of the fear for his life after
death threats he received following his arrest.
The cell is 6 square meter and is removed from the
other modules of the other prisoners. San Sebastian
is a holding facility for those awaiting trial or
have been ordered to short sentences.
The facility is overcrowded as most jails and
prisons in Costa Rica and sanitary and health
conditions are from bad to worse.
Third in human
development
According to
the United Nations, Costa Rica ranks third in Latin
America‚surpassed only by Argentina and Uruguay‚
regarding human development.
In a 175-nation ranking, topped by Norway, Costa
Rica places 42nd, while Argentina holds
the 34th position and Uruguay the 40th.
The Human Development Index was established in 1990
and it measures the efforts that countries make in
order to improve the quality of living of their
people.
The top 55 countries in the ranking are considered
to have "high human development".
Vice-President Lineth Saborío, who is also the
coordinator of the Governmentís Social Council,
asserted that acknowledging the progress made must
not stop Costa Ricans, but be a motor to promote
important changes.
Pilot skills
averted tragedy
Even though
the engine of their plane quit in mid air, a few
minutes after leaving Drake, in the Costa Rican
South Pacific, pilot Sergio Cabrera and co-pilot
Jose Rodriguez were able to make an emergency
landing with their single-engine Cessna Caravan 208B
in a dirt strip at Ballena Beach.
The 11 passengers agreed that their lives were
spared by the skill of the pilots, who glided for
some 6 minutes over the Pacific Ocean.
Rigoberto Nunez, the chairman of the Golfito
municipal council, was aboard and told about the
experience: "About 10 minutes after we had
taken off Drake, there was an explosion, and the
engine stopped.
We thought we were going to die. But the pilots were
calm and transmitted that feeling to us. They
prepared us for a crash landing, so nobody was
injured. The 13 of us were born again."
Famine prods
illegal immigrants
Hunger,
unemployment, and disease are among the reasons most
often quoted by Nicaraguans who enter Costa Rica
illegally looking for jobs.
A plague of rats that destroyed the crops in the San
Juan River area, right across the border, has
worsened conditions in Nicaragua and pushed new
waves of illegal immigrants to Costa Rica.
Nicaraguan farmers told daily La Nacion reporters
that the destruction of their crops has resulted in
total lack of food and of money to purchase the
least of their basic needs.
They stated that they are going hungry and that
there are families who have mangoes only to stay
alive.
Therefore, they explained, those who are able to are
migrating to Costa Rica, even though they are doing
so illegally.
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Peruvian central bank chief resigns
Peruvian Prime Minister Beatriz Merino said on Friday that Central Bank President Richard Webb has resigned.
However, Merino denied speculations that the central bank chiefhad quit his job due to disagreement with the government on the fiscal and monetary policy.
Merino appealed to the financial market for calmness, saying Webb's departure would not raise the country-risk index.
"Webb goes, but a good monetary policy prevails," Merino said.
There had been speculations in local press that Webb would leave his post because he had lost President Alejandro Toledo's trust due to differences on the monetary policy.
Webb said earlier that he would give reasons for his resignation next week.
US donates money for Panama's security forces
Panama is set to receive a donation of more than 7 million US dollars from the United States for the reinforcement of its security forces, local press
reported Friday.
The US embassy in Panama handed over this week to the National Police 11 armored personnel vehicles, which could be used to transport security forces to reinforce security on the border
withColombia.
Panamanian ambassador to Washington Roberto Alfaron said the donation, which has been approved by the US Congress, is a new step in the development of close relations between the two countries.
He said Panama is in a privileged position in relations with the United States after the signing of a bilateral agreement granting Americans immunity from the International Criminal Court
(ICC).
On July 1, the United States suspended more than 47 million dollars in military aid to 35 countries for their failure or refusal to sign similar deals.
UN agency endorses decisions to eradicate poverty
The United Nations Economic and Social Council adopted a resolution Friday endorsing the decision of the World Summit on Sustainable Development to establish the World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and to promote social development in developing countries.
The council requested that the administrator of the United Nations Development Program take measures to operationalize the World Solidarity Fund by establishing a high-level committee whosetask would be to define its strategy.
The Administrator was also requested, and interested Member States were invited, to publicize the World Solidarity Fund and raise awareness of its existence among public and private sectors as well as within civil society.
Developing countries were invited, as soon as resources were made available to the Fund, to identify projects to be submitted for financing by the World Solidarity Fund.
The council also held a panel discussion on humanitarian financing and effectiveness of human assistance, moderated by Carolyn McAskie, the UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator.
She briefed the council on the recent unspeakable atrocities she had witnessed in Africa and the responsibility of the international community to ensure that the needs of suffering people are met.
The council began its substantive session in Geneva this year on June 30. The annual four-week session, held alternately in Geneva and New York, is scheduled to end on 25 July.
World's central left leaders meet over future progressive governance
Worldwide central left government leaders and more than 500 international politicians, thinkers and policy experts gathered in the British capital from Friday to set an agenda for the global progressive left to pursue for the next decade.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, when addressing the opening ceremony of the three-day Progressive Governance Conference, called for fighting with the threats of international insecurity with the central left's values and ideas.
"For all the threats of terrorism and international security, the only true path to lasting peace is to be united also in recognizing that without those values of social justice, solidarity, opportunity and security for all, the world will neverprosper or be fully at peace," he said.
As for the home fronts, Blair said the central left governments,which try to retain themselves in the so-called "third way," are now facing the same problems.
"In each country we face the same challenges: pension and health care reform; improving the quality of education; social exclusion; drugs and crime; how to be economically competitive andsocially just," he said.
The prime minister, who came to power in 1997, said it has beenproved by the six-year ruling of his New Labor that better economic competence and greater social justice can advance hand
inhand.
The Progressive Governance Conference, a parallel event to the Progressive Governance Summit which will kick off on Sunday evening immediately afterwards, is attended by leading politiciansfrom Europe, North and South America, Africa and New Zealand including former US president Bill Clinton.
The conference was also expected to build towards a new political blueprint for the central left based on seven policy areas like welfare state, public service reforms, states and markets, immigration, citizenship, science and governance focusingon global security.
"This conference could not have occurred at a more appropriate time, as the values that sustain the progressive left become more invigorated through the sharing of experiences, the adoption of best practice, the generation of new ideas and the development of workable solutions," said British lawmaker Peter Mandelson, chair of the conference's organizer Policy Network.
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