Bad Weather Leaves One Dead, 584 Affected
The body of an unidentified man found in
the Toro river in the area of Unión de Toro, en
Golfito de Pital, San Carlos, northwest of San José,
while 584 others have been affected by the bad
weather over the weekend.
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South Africa rates as one of the
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according to findings of an
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Tourism intelligence has
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features among them. |
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The others affected by inclement weather was due to the overflowing of
rivers in the Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí (Heredia) and in the areas of
Siquirres, Matina and Limón.
The Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias (CNE)
has declared a "red" alert those areas and a "yellow" alert for the north
zone.
A call has been made to all those who live in high risk areas, areas prone
to flooding and mudslides, to be vigilant and take precautions.
The CNE informs that with the constant rains since Saturday in the area, the
most affected routes are the carretera Braulio Carrillo (route 32) that
connects Limón to San José. Mudslides along the highway are common during
rainy periods.
The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) - the weatherman - informs us
that the rains in variable intensity will continue in the area well into
Monday and possibly until Wednesday.
CCSS
Ex-President Defends Himself
The storm surrounding the CCSS and the Fischel Corporation has
those involved denying anything wrong was going on at the CCSS (Caja
Costarricense del Seguro Social).
Ex-president of the Caja, Eliseo Vargas, reconfirms that he did not benefit
in any way regarding his house and the appropriate authorities have been
made aware of all of his holdings.
Vargas insists that there was no favouritism towards the Fischel Corporation
and everything was done by the book.
Last Friday, judicial officials raided the house rented to Vargas in Santa
Ana, owned by an executive of Fischel and the central offices of the Fischel
Corporation in downtown San José, in search of documents relating to any
wrongdoing between Fischel and the Caja which saw Vargas being removed from
the presidency and an internal investigation of the Caja by government.
Judicial officials maintain that the recent purchases by the Caja of
equipment and the increase in the volume of contracts by Fischel were
tainted with kickbacks.
The investigation is ongoing.
Pacheco to
Get Tough on Corruption
In his weekly broadcast over the National Ratio
network, president Abel Pacheco, referred to his achievements over the past
two years in office. He spoke about his achievements in education and heath,
the increase in tourism and agriculture and the development of road
infrastructure that is underway.
He told the audience that his achievements would have been greater if the
Legislative Assembly had passed his Tax Plan.
He closed his weekly message warning those in government that are corrupt
that he will get tough on them.
Panama Dominates
Central America Ports Volumes
Some 64.2m tonnes of cargo were moved in Central American ports during 2003,
according to the latest statistics of the Central American Commission of
Maritime Transportation (COCATRAM).
Of this, 37.5% was handled by the Panamanian ports; 23.1% by those of
Guatemala; 16.5% by Costa Rica; 12.19% by Honduras and 7.4% by those of El
Salvador. The remaining 3.4 percent moved through Nicaraguan ports.
According to COCATRAM in all countries there were increases in the cargo
handled by their ports compared with the previous corresponding period. The
most important were Panama (15.7%) Honduras (8.1%) and Costa Rica (7%).
The ports reporting the highest volume of cargo handled are Manzanillo
International Terminal – Panama (MIT) with 8.6 million tons passing from
second to first place, while the Limon-Moin complex (Costa Rica) handled 7.6
million tons.
Puerto Cortes (Honduras) 6.3 million tons; Puerto Quetzal (Guatemala) 5.9
million; Santo Tomas de Castilla (Guatemala) 4.5 million tons and Acajutla
(El Salvador) 4.6 million tons. Panama Ports Company reported 7.9 million
tons in the Panamanian ports of Balboa and Cristobal.
Various ports of the Caribbean Basin have become important container
transhipment centres. Those that are highlighted are Cartagena (Colombia)
Freeport (Bahamas) and Kingston (Jamaica) as well as a dozen minor ports
that have important transhipment percentages.
Two Sentenced in
Fraud Case
"Simple greed" turned two prominent members of the Albuquerque,
New Mexico, community into two prominent federal felons, U.S. Attorney David
Iglesias says.
More prominent professionals could also be facing the same fate, federal
prosecutors say.
Chris Key, a well-known attorney and a school chum of President Clinton in
their Rhodes Scholar days, and successful dentist Ruben J. Martinez were
sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court to probation for their parts in
an international tax fraud scheme.
Both face the possibility of losing the professions that once brought them
social stature, six-figure incomes and beautiful homes in the Sandia
foothills.
"It's tragic that these two men, who were capable of contributing so much to
society, chose to throw everything away because of simple greed," Iglesias
said in a news release issued Wednesday.
"Key and Martinez are highly skilled professionals who were favored by
fortune with great accomplishments and substantial legitimate incomes," he
said. "They will live the rest of their lives as felons because they cheated
on their taxes."
The scheme involved phony businesses in Central America. Court documents
state Key made substantial tax savings by claiming large losses each year
from 1994 to 2000 from a Costa Rican warehouse operation that did not exist.
Martinez's returns from 1994 to 1999 also claimed losses from a fictitious
dental supply company called Compania Ruma Dental in Costa Rica, court
records state.
"Just between these two guys, the loss to the government was about $1
million," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathon Gerson, who prosecuted the
case.
Gerson would not specify how many others may face similar fraud charges,
saying only that the investigation is ongoing.
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Cuba: The Passion of Christ movie sparks Evangelical
debate
The movie the Passion of Christ, by Mel Gibson, sparked a
debate in Cuba among pastors from different denominations about whether
or not the movie faithfully reflects the Biblical history it
seeks to portray.
A group of pastors from eight denominations met last weekend in the city
of
Camaguey, in central Cuba, to examine whether the film is anti-Semitic,
as
speculated by mass media, and whether is uses hyper-realism in showing
the
images of the suffering on the cross.
The movie has not been officially shown in Cuban movie theatres but it
has
been viewed in pirated copies that have entered the country and passed
from
hand to hand.
Many of these copies are blurry and difficult to understand due to the
fact
that they are translated from Aramaic to English and then to Spanish
using superimposed subtitles.
The Rev. Ester Quintero, vice president of the Cuban Council of Churches
told ALC that after watching the film we reached the conclusion that it
is
not an attack on Judaism but rather a strong criticism of the reigning
power structures of the time.
Of course, it is upsetting to see the delight which, in some scenes,
manipulates the suffering of Jesus of Golgotha, very much in line with
the
violent cinema that is sold in the world today.
"Claro que molesta un poco ese regodeo que, en algunas escenas, manipula
el sufrimiento de Jeszs en el Gslgota, muy a tono con el cine de violencia
que hoy se vende en el mundo".
As a believer and as someone who knows history, one knows we are not
going
to confront a complacent argument but I also do not think we are
prepared,
as spectators, to see a Biblical theme reflected in such a
straightforward
fashion, said Quintero.
She added that we cannot pretend that a movie, a result of the artistic
and
personal vision of the movie maker, is reality itself.
Even the Bible, inspired by God, cannot be limited to an interpretation
of
the events based on our knowledge of the time.
The group of pastors and leaders who saw the film reached the conclusion
that regardless of the positive and negative opinions that the Passion
may
have motivated, according to the very personal Gospel of Gibson, we must
thank the actor and director for the convocation it has permitted.
The movie made it possible to reach Holy Week with a spirit of
confrontation and searching, which has overshadowed the contemplative
nature with which we sometimes commemorate the date, as if it were a
story
detained n time and not a challenge, from the cross, for everyone, every
day, she said.
Venezuela
seized scores of Colombian paramilitaries
Venezuelan Defense Minister Jose Garcia Carneiro said his
security forces had captured 56 Colombian right-wing paramilitaries
early Sunday morning at a ranch on the southern outskirts of Caracas.
Security forces and the police are still hunting the other 80 Colombian
right-wing paramilitaries who had fled from the ranch, said Carneiro.
As indicated by preliminary investigation, the 130 odd Colombians,
dressed in Venezuelan military uniforms, had been undergoing military
training at the ranch after they had secretly come to Venezuela in
March.
Roberto Alonso, the owner of the ranch, is a Cuban exile and an
important member of Venezuela's opposition who had participated in
plotting February's demonstration against President Hugo Chavez. He is
also linked to Cuban exile groups headquartered in Miami opposed to
Cuba's Communist President Fidel Castro, reports said.
A captured Colombian militant said that next week about a thousand
right-wing Colombian militants will steal into Venezuela. The
paramilitary groups also have plans to attack a military installation in
Caracas and carry out other terrorist attacks in the near future.
Carneiro accused the country's opposition parties of having supported
the right-wing Colombian paramilitary groups' secret entry into
Venezuela and plotted terrorist attacks to disrupt the security of the
society in a bid to making preparations for future coups.
Some dissident military officers might be involved, Carneiro said.
In a televised speech broadcast after the seizure of the Colombian
paramilitaries, President Chavez said that all terrorist conspiracies
seeking to sabotage Venezuela's democracy are doomed to be defeated by
the Venezuelan people.
Brazil calls NY
Times alcohol story "slander"
Brazil on Sunday condemned as slanderous a New York Times article about
the drinking habits of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
"The Brazilian government will study the appropriate measures to defend
the honor of the president of the republic and the image of Brazil
overseas," presidential spokesman Andre Singer said in a statement.
The article in the Sunday New York Times said "some of his countrymen
have begun wondering if their president's predilection for strong drink
is affecting his performance in office."
But Singer said Lula's social habits were "moderate and not at all
different from those of the average Brazilian citizen."
"Only prejudice and lack of ethics can explain this strange attempt to
put (his) credibility and his commitment to institutions in doubt."
Earlier on Sunday, the president's press office said it did not consider
the article to be journalism "but slander, defamation, and prejudice,
and the issue will be treated as such."
Singer did not say what measures Brazil was contemplating. But he said
Brazil's ambassador in Washington had been instructed to tell the
newspaper of the government's disgust about the article. |
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