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Arenal Volcano Erupts
The Arenal Volcano,
Costa Rica's
most active volcano, hacked and coughed
and spewed lava,
rocks and ash Friday in its strongest eruption
in more than two years, panicking nearby
residents.
The lava flows
were on the unpopulated north and northwest
slopes of the 5,388-foot mountain, said Rodolfo
van der Laat of Costa Rica's Seismological and
Vulcanological Observatory.
Authorities said
there was no need to evacuate the hotel that
house visitors from around the world who visit
the park around the volcano, 75 miles north of
San Jose.
The volcano has
been intermittently active since 1968, when
it exploded and killed 87 and destroyed two
villages.
Since then the zone surrounding the volcano has
become a tourist attraction, as visitors hope to
catch a glimpse of nocturnal pyrotechnics. Nine
tourists and a pilot were killed in 1999 when
their plane crashed into the side of the
volcano.
Economy
Minister Resigns
The minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Vilma Villalobos Carvajal, resigned yesterday,
without saying publicly the reason for her decision.
She denied to answer when asked if it was
because was offered a well paid at the Banco
Centroamericano de Integración Económica.
President Abel Pacheco ratified that Villalobos her position as of the15th of September and announced that
she will be replaced by Gilberto Barrantes, that held the position in the last administration.
Mother
and Her 2 Children Arrested for Drug Trafficking
The
arrest Thursday of a woman and two of her
children allowed to disbanding of the family
group that dedicated itself to the selling drugs
in the town of Pueblo Nuevo de Parrita,
Puntarenas.
Another three of her
children were already in preventative prison for
drug trafficking.
The charges were laid by agents of Policía de
Control de Drogas (PCD) (Drug Enforcement
Police), against a 48 year old woman by the last
name of Fernandez and her two children - a 31
year old female and a 26 year old male.
Uneven
Recovery of Economy
The expected recovery of economy for the years 2003 and 2004 will not be even for all sectors.
Industry ‚with computer component manufacturer Intel as flagship‚ will grow 8.4 percent this year, while agriculture will have a tough time just to keep abreast of last year's marked decline. The business and construction sectors would have the least growth.
These data correspond to the forecast of private analysis firm Ecoanalisis. These projections shatter the expectations of a vast number of Costa Ricans, who expected a major increase in production and the ensuing larger number of jobs and income for workers. However, the analysts pointed out that these are only projections and that many factors can change the current figures, either up or down.
Fasten
Your Seat Belt
From January through August this year, 149 drivers and passengers died in road accidents in Costa Rica.
According to official sources, 91 percent ‚135 people‚ were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident. Ministry of Public Works and Transport
(MOPT) authorities stated that the figures are alarming because‚
according to statistics‚ the chances of surviving a car crash increase to 95 percent for people wearing seat belts.
Even though legislation to make wearing the belts mandatory was first rejected by the Constitutional Court, in face of mounting evidence, MOPT authorities expect the approval leading to improved safety on the road.
A
Favorite for Honeymooners
Costa Rica was chosen as the best destination for a honeymoon in the category "Best Adventure" in a survey by US magazine Modern Bride.
The publication every year prints a survey about the best destinations for honeymooners, as per the opinion of international travel agencies.
Twenty-three countries took part but, according to the magazine, Costa Rica won because of its combination of forests and beaches. In the "Beaches" classification, Costa Rica was 22 among 50 destinations proposed to newly weds.
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Colombian rebels to free former presidential candidate
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group, will release former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt who has been taken hostage, announced a Colombian top lawmaker on Friday.
Reliable information indicated that the 17,000-strong FARC will soon release Betancourt, a formal presidential candidate from the small political party Green Oxygen, after having held him hostage since 2002, said Alfonso Acosta, president of the Lower House of Congress.
The lower house chairman expressed this week his will to take actions in order to accelerate the release of other congressmen and the law-enforcement servicemen held hostage more than two years ago.
Betancourt, kidnapped by FARC in February 2002 along with her campaign advisor, has become the most famous of some 850
military, political and civilian hostages held by the rebel group in the war-torn country.
He was among a group of 60 people to be used by FARC for the exchange of imprisoned guerrillas. But the Colombian government has rejected a direct deal with the rebels, demanding UN
mediation instead.
Colombia has been ravaged by a four-decade civil war, the longest in Latin America, in which government troops, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitary forces have been engaged. About 3,500 people, mostly civilians, are killed in the conflict every year.
Poll shows most Colombians support Uribe's reelection
Sixty-six percent of the Colombians would support the reelection of incumbent President Alvaro
Uribe, should the Constitution allow him to run for a second tenure, an opinion poll released Friday showed.
Only 27.3 percent of the 600 people interviewed were against the president's reelection, according to the poll sponsored by Colombian radio network
RCN, and conducted last Wednesday in the cities of
Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga.
Under the current Colombian constitution, presidents are not allowed to seek a second term. A group of Colombian congressmen are pushing for an initiative aimed at modifying the constitution to allow the presidential reelection.
IMF satisfied with performance of Peruvian economy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is satisfied with the performance of the Peruvian economy, IMF chief of mission Andrew Wolf said on Friday.
"We are satisfied with the expansion of the economic
activities of Peru, with its low inflation, the solidity of the exchange
rate and the increase in the flow of foreign currency," Wolf said in
an interview with a local radio.
According to Wolf, who is on his third tour to Lima this year, Peru has complied with the agreement it signed with IMF in February 2002 by increasing the tax collection and making efforts to meet the fiscal targets for this year.
He added that with a prudent administration of the economy and finance, Peru moves toward a sustained recovery with the
reception of foreign investment, the creation of jobs in the mid-term and the reduction of interest rates.
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