And though most workers have the day off, political leaders and the legislative assembly have a busy day.

On May 1st, traditionally, the President addresses the legislature to give his report to the nation.

In the streets of downtown San José, you can expect parades and other displays to celebrate the day.
 

Mangoes Seduce Europe
The town of Atenas, in the province of Alajuela, is renowned around the world for having the best weather in Costa Rica.

In fact, tradition has it that the Germans had chosen it as one of the ideal places for the recovery of their casualties in World War II. Although that project never materialized, Europeans and other foreigners have made Atenas and its surroundings their permanent home.

But now, another product of this land is seducing Europe: mangoes.

The conditions of climate and soil combine to produce some of the best fruit dozens of small growers have established a company that exports 300,000 to 400,000 kilos (some 652,000 to 869,000 pounds) to Europe, particularly to Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

Antonio Porras, one of the growers, points out that he would have never been able to sell any mangoes abroad by himself because "we're too small, and by ourselves could never supply one full container. However, together we are doing good business for farmer families, the region, and the nation, thanks to the hard currency we are been paid."
 

Earthquake Jolts Southwest Nicaragua
A moderately strong earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale jolted Nicaragua, but there were no reports of fatalities or material damage, the Nicaragua's Meteorological agency said.

The quake alarmed people in the cities of Rivas, Carazo and Masaya in southwest Nicaragua when it hit around 6:57 pm (0057 GMT, Thursday).

The epicenter was located some 230 kilometers (143 miles) south of Managua, in the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica's west coast, according to the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER).

In cities where the quake was felt the tremors lasted a few seconds, and caused people to run into the streets.

INETER said the earthquake was caused by the brushing together of tectonic plates.
 

Protection of Turtles
Research disclosed in Costa Rica at the 24th Symposium on Turtles shows that the conservation of turtles as a tourist attractions results in twice the amount of dollars earned by developing nations as compared to their selling the meat, skin, shell, and eggs of these animals.

Some 1,000 experts from 80 nations attended the symposium, in which it was pointed out that the tourism attracted by the spawning, incubation, and return to the sea of the turtles has steadily increased in the last 13 years.

Data from experts shows that in the last 10 years, over 170,000 people took part in turtle-watching tours and generated a combined income of $1.6 million dollars in nine countries.
 

EU Strikes Deal On Asylum Rules
EU interior ministers on Thursday managed to forge a deal on a crucial piece of asylum legislation that sets out common EU rules on granting and withdrawing refugee status.

The deal was agreed only two days before the May 1 deadline and EU enlargement.

The rules deal with matters such as the right of access for an asylum procedure and include criteria for prioritizing and accelerating applications.

The ministers wanted to abolish differences in asylum benefits among EU states to eliminate "asylum shopping," that is, asylum seekers picking the country that offers them the most advantageous conditions.

Member states agreed to establish a minimum list of safe countries of origin, whereby asylum applicants coming from those countries will have their application denied in an accelerated procedure.

In coming months there will be an assessment of countries which may be put on the list, which, besides Romania and Bulgaria, may include Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Ghana, Mali, Mauritius, Senegal and Uruguay.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said it "still has some problems" with the agreement reached and expressed concern that some people may be sent away from the country where they asked for asylum before the outcome of an appeal.

OAS observers satisfied with preparations for Panamanian elections
The observers sent by the Organization of American States (OAS) to oversee the elections in Panama voiced their satisfaction on Thursday over the electoral process prior to the Sunday voting.

Nearly 2 million out of all the 2.8 million Panamanians are expected to go to 2,193 polling stations and 5,105 tables to elect the president, lawmakers, mayors and representatives.

The chief of the OAS delegation, Moises Benamor, said Panama's electoral organization had acted positively to prepare for the elections.

He noted that the media had widely covered the pre-electoral stage and even offered free spaces for candidates to debate.

Asked about a possible votes buying, Benamor said further conclusion would be drawn on the basis of voters' behaviors in Sunday's voting, but the preparatory work for the elections was satisfactory.
 

14 children, 2 adults wounded in Colombia's traffic accident
A mini-bus crashed into a school bus on Thursday morning in downtown Bogota, leaving at least 14 children and two adults injured, police said.

Col. Luis Olivares, commander of the police station of Martiresin charge of the area where the accident took place, said 14 children, the driver of the school bus and a woman suffered slight injuries.

Police will investigate into the accident and find who is responsible for it, Olivares said.

This is the second similar accident in the Colombian capital in just two days.

On Wednesday afternoon, a school bus was run over by a digging machine in the northwest of Bogota, in which 21 children and two adults were killed and 36 wounded, the capital's mayor said.
 

APEC education ministers meet in Chile
Education ministers of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members started their third meeting here Thursday as part of the preparations for an APEC summit scheduled for next November.

Chilean Education Minister Sergio Bitar said education is the axis of development and has a key influence on future cooperation and relations among APEC's 21 members in the era of globalization.

The Chilean side has showed special interest in learning about the experiences of countries like Japan, which adopted successful measures to improve education quality, and Canada, whose target is to have 50 percent of its population speaking two languages within eight years in the light of growing Asian immigration.

During the two-day meeting, the ministers or their envoys will also analyze the teaching of English and other languages, use of information technology in teaching and learning, learning of math and sciences and education reforms.