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updated by 7:00 a.m. CST each day
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Man Shoots Wife and his Two
Children
A man took the life of wife and his two daughters
Tuesday morning, in Llorente de Tibas, a quiet
neigbourhood just north of downtown San José. The
man is in police custody.
Maria Martinez, 37, and her two daughters, Yorleny
and Johanna, 1 and 3 years of age, were the latest
victims of family violence.
Red Cross workers who responded to the call, said
they could not to do anything to save the lives of
the victims when they arrived, dieing from being
shot with a gun.
The scene was so heartrendering and impressive that
some officials responding to the scene were greatly
affected, said a commander with the Fuerza Publica.
The family had been having problems the past several
months, according to neighbours.
This is the third case this year that a father kills
his own children.
Nicaraguan
President
in Costa Rica
The president
of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolaños arrived in in Costa
Rica yesterday for official talks with Costa Rican
president Abel Pacheco and other government
officials.
The main reason for the visit is an attempt on
Nicaragua's part to smooth relations as they pertain
to a proposed Costa Rican immigration policy that
will affect Nicaraguans visiting or wanting to visit
Costa Rica and to discuss cultural issues that
affect both countries.
Following discussions, the Costa Rican government
announced that it will definitely not have another
amnesty period for illegal Nicaraguans as it did
several years back during the Rodriguez
administration.
It will, however, study the possibility of allowing
more temporary visit visas to Nicaraguans.
Partial Support
for Protest
The rains kept away thousands of public service
employees who were being called to protest in front
of the Ministerio De Hacienda in downtown San José
in an effort to show their displeasure at the
government's announced of increasing public employee
salaries only 3.5% this half of the year.
The most affected public service was that of MOPT -
Minsterio de Obras Pubica y Transport (Public Works
and Transport Ministry) - whose drivers licensing
offices were completely paralyzed.
Thousands of public sector employees met to protest
in front of the Revenue Minister, Alberto Dent, to
ask for his support and to listen to their
complaints.
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China proposes greater cooperation with Latin America
China looks forward to further promoting international cooperation with Latin America, said the Chinese delegate to the 16th meeting of the Latin American Economic System (LAES) on Tuesday.
Yang Fajin, speaking at the meeting on behalf of Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, expounded on the Chinese government's positions on international economic cooperation and financing for development.
In his speech, Yang proposed greater cooperation with Latin America, pledging China's continued efforts to strengthen unity and cooperation with developing countries, and to support Latin American countries in their efforts to safeguard their independence and promote national economic development.
Development of human resources, assistance in constructing projects of popular interest in Latin America and provision of support for Chinese firms in co-investments or cooperation with Latin American firms through preferential loans are among the measures to expand cooperation between the two sides, according
toYang.
He praised LAES for having made important contributions to promoting Latin America's regional cooperation and defending the legitimate rights and interests of the region's countries since its establishment 27 years ago.
The meeting, scheduled to end on July 30, is expected to issue a statement containing the Latin America-Caribbean consensus on international cooperation and development financing.
Six police, one soldier killed in rescue attempt in Colombia
Six policemen and one soldier were killed during an operation to rescue 22 individuals who were kidnapped by guerrillas from a western Colombia highway, authorities announced on Tuesday.
Col. Rodolfo Palominos, Caldas State police cmmander, told reporters that rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) set up a roadblock with buses whose tires were punctured on a road between Quinchia and Anserma, 190 kilometers west of Bogota, capital of the country. Then, they captured a number of cars and their drivers.
"During the pursuit, unfortunately, six of our men and a soldier died," the commander said, adding that in later clashes, two more soldiers and two more policemen were injured.
On Monday night, the rebels released the hostages near
Riosucio.
Each year, Colombia witnesses an average of 3,000 kidnappings, half of them committed by the rebels.
Between January and June 2003, 1,016 kidnappings occurred, a 34-percent drop from the same period in 2002, when the number of kidnappings was 1,544.
France confirms humanitarian intervention for kidnapped Colombian
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed on Tuesday that his government made a humanitarian intervention to try to free former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, kidnapped 17 months ago by guerrillas.
"An intervention, called by Betancourt's family, to obtain information on her health situation, took place but failed," Sarkozy told reporters during a visit to Colombia.
He added that the French authorities communicated with the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in regard to the freeing of the former candidate soon after her kidnapping.
Last weekend, Brazilian magazine Carta Capital reported that 11French citizens using diplomatic passports arrived in the Brazilian city of Manaos on July 10 on board a US-made C-130 Hercules plane, seeking to obtain Betancourt's freedom.
Betancourt, 41, who has dual Colombian-French citizenship, has been in the hands of FARC since Feb. 23, 2002, when she traveled to the rebels-controlled San Vicente del Caguan, 280 km south of
Bogota.
The kidnapping occurred three days after then president Andres Pastrana suspended the three-year-old peace talks with
FARC.
According to the magazine, Ingrid Betancourt's sister, Astrid Betancourt, had moved to Brazil after receiving news of a contact by FARC on the intention of the guerrilla group to liberate Ingrid.
However, the rebels failed to contact the French envoys, possibly out of mistrust, and on July 13, Brazilian officials "invited" the team to leave the country, according to the magazine.
Sakorzy said the French government is "deeply concerned" about Ingrid Betancourt's plight.
The French government on Monday denied it was negotiating the release of Betancourt, or that it had ever been in contact with the guerrillas. But it confirmed that it sent a humanitarian mission with medics to
Manaos.
But Betancourt's sister said France wanted to make the mission a low-profile.
FARC, the largest guerrilla group in the Andean country with 17,000 members, has repeatedly expressed its willingness to reach a humanitarian agreement on the release of the 100 hostages it had kidnapped, many of them political and military figures.
The rebel group seeks to swap the hostages for the nearly 4,000jailed guerrillas, plus the demilitarization of the country's south.
Colombia has been ravaged by a four-decade-long civil war, in which government forces, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitaries fight one another. About 3,500 people, mostly civilians, are killed in the conflict every year.
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