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updated by 7:00 a.m. CST each day
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Teacher's Strike
Continues: Day 17
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Government to call on retired teachers
Yesterday,
teachers took to the streets on a march from
downtown San José to Presidential House, to show
their united support to the government. President
Pacheco assured that he will call on retired
teachers and special groups to fill the classrooms.
According to Pacheco, the students cannot continue
to lose classes while teachers continue
unjustifiable in the streets.
Those most affected by this work action, is the
students as they continue to lose school days, days
that may not be able to be recovered.
Colombians will
have a special
visa
Colombian
president Alvaro Urive is expected to visit Costa
Rica Thursday and the Costa Rican government has
announced that it will present then a special visa
for Colombians, mainly for business persons who
travel frequently to Costa Rica.
In addition, the vice chancellors of Colombia and
Costa Rica, Clemencia Forero y Marco Vinicio Vargas,
respectively, who inaugurated the 4th Bi-National -
Costa Rica - Colombia - meeting yesterday, will
discuss issues of immigration, drug trafficking and
commercial interchange, among others.
President Pacheco assured that the moment Colombians
who visit Costa Rica must obtain a visa every time
prior to visiting Costa Rica. However, a multiple
entry will be granted to those who visit frequently.
US Airways to fly
direct to Costa Rica
Beginning on the
8th of November, US Airways will be operating
flights to and from Costa Rica, once the government
approves the plan.
US Airways will be offering two daily direct flights
to San José from Charlotte and Philadelphia.
One
Less Pedophile
On the Loose in
Central America
A
US citizen who departed from Costa Rica on Monday
evening was detained in Chile on last Tuesday (10th)
morning for possessing child pornography, presumably
produced in Costa Rica.
David Sussman, 42, a fugitive from justice with a
pending international arrest warrant from the State
of Florida, was detained in Panama on Friday morning
after having been expelled by the Chilean
authorities. Saturday morning he was deported from
Panama to Miami where he faces charges of sexual
abuse of children.
The suspect, who had been working as an English
teacher in the Costa Rican-North American Cultural
Center in San Jose, left Costa Rica on June 11th en
route to Chile. The immigration authorities in
Santiago did not let him enter the country as it was
discovered he was traveling with a falsified Mexican
passport.
When the suspicious Chilean officials searched his
luggage, they found several pornographic videos
that, according to the authorities, were filmed in
Costa Rica. The date the tapes were made was June
9th, 2003, when Sussman was present in Costa Rica.
The fugitive confessed that at least one of the
female victims in the video was a minor. According
to the sex crimes division of the Chilean police,
one of the tapes was a "snuff" video
containing sadistic acts.
Notified by the Chilean police that Sussman was to
be expelled from Chile back to Costa Rica, Casa
Alianza immediately requested the support of the
Public Prosecutor's office in Alajuela, Costa Rica
requesting the detention of the suspect and the
confiscation of the videos.
Thursday morning, a special prosecutor, together
with agents from the Ministry of Public Security and
Immigration were waiting at the Juan Santa Maria
airport in San Jose. Nevertheless, the Panamanian
authorities detained the American when he was
changing flights in Panama. The subject carried US$
12,000 in undeclared funds plus nine videos in his
luggage, which was taken into police custody.
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Colombia to host Andean Community summit
Presidents of members of the Andean Community (Ancom) will meet later this month in Colombia to work out development strategies, the Colombian government said on Tuesday.
According to a communique issued by the Colombian government, leaders of the group will hold the 14th Ancom Summit on June 27 and 28 in Quirama Upper Studies College, near the city of
Medellin, some 230 km northwest of
Bogota.
Attending the summit will be presidents of all the group's
five member countries -- Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.
Prior to the summit there will be a meeting of national coordinators on June 24 and 25, followed by a gathering of
foreign ministers on June 26
Venezuelan economy not expected to recover in 2003: official
Venezuela's economy is not expected to recover within the year, according to a senior official of the industrial sector.
Lope Mendoza, president of the National Industry Council, said that the 29-percent drop in the national economy in the first quarter, mass imports by the government, and the inefficiency in transferring foreign currency after the 150-day currency exchange control, lowered the industrial sector's expectation on economic recovery.
The industrial sector is operating at half capacity and some industrial activities are under restrained schedules to keep
jobs, Mendoza was quoted as saying by Tuesday's local daily Ultimas
Noticias.
He also said that the slow pace in transferring foreign currency almost paralyzed the industry. Seven billion US dollars of capital flow is needed every year, but only 1 percent has been transferred so far this year.
Among the most affected industries are those related to
exports, as production markedly dropped.
US stocks edge up after huge rally
US stocks ended up slightly on Tuesday as investors battled the temptation to take profits from Monday's huge rally.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 4.06 points, or 0.04 percent, to 9,323.02 after having advanced 201 points over the previous session.
The broader market also ended higher. The technology-laced Nasdaq composite gained 1.86 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,668.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 0.92 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,011.66.
Early Tuesday, the Federal Reserve said production at the nation's factories and utilities gained 0.1 percent in May, the first gain since February, while the Commerce Department said housing construction rose 6.1 percent in May, showing continued strength in the housing sector.
The Labor Department also said its consumer price index was unchanged in May, allaying fears of possible deflation.
Some analysts believed that many investors were holding off making major stock purchase as the second-quarter earnings season approaches.
Electronics retailer Circuit City rose 92 cents to 7.79
dollars, Microsoft advanced 57 cents to 25.96 dollars and drug maker
Pfizer climbed 1.56 dollars to 36.18 dollars, while AT&T declined 1.01 dollars to 20.05 dollars and Coca-Cola fell 1 dollar to 47.2 dollars.
The NYSE composite index rose 8.44 points to 5,722.85, the American Stock Exchange index climbed 3.63 points to 972.59 and the Russell 2000 index of small companies edged up 0.54 points to 458.01.
On the NYSE, losers narrowly outnumbered gainers. The NYSE trading volume was 1.46 billion shares, larger than the volume traded Monday
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