 |
|
||||
 |
 |
|
||
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for more details |
A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page |
|
|
|
San
José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 10
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
By the Harvard University news staff
The acceleration of global sea level change from the end of the 20th century through the last two decades has been significantly swifter than scientists thought, according to a new Harvard study. The study, co-authored by Carling Hay, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Eric Morrow, a recent doctoral graduate, shows that calculations of global sea-level rise from 1900 to 1990 had been overestimated by as much as 30 percent. The report, however, confirms estimates of sea-level change since 1990, suggesting that the rate of change is increasing more rapidly than previously understood. The research is described in a paper in Nature. “What this paper shows is that sea-level acceleration over the past century has been greater than had been estimated by others,” Morrow said. “It’s a larger problem than we initially thought.” “Scientists now believe that most of the world’s ice sheets and mountain glaciers are melting in response to rising temperatures,” Ms. Hay added. “Melting ice sheets cause global mean sea level to rise. Understanding this contribution is critical in a warming world.” Previous estimates had placed sea-level rise at between 1.5 and 1.8 millimeters annually in the 20th century. Ms. Hay and Morrow, however, suggest that from 1901 until 1990, the figure was closer to 1.2 millimeters per year. However, everyone agrees that global sea level has risen by about 3 millimeters annually since that time. “Another concern with this is that many efforts to project sea-level change into the future use estimates of sea level over the time period from 1900 to 1990,” Morrow said. “If we’ve been overestimating the sea-level change during that period, it means that these models are not calibrated appropriately, and that calls into question the accuracy of projections out to the end of the 21st century.” Ms. Hay and Morrow approached the challenge of estimating sea-level rise from a new perspective. Typically, Ms. Hay said, estimates of sea-level rise are created by dividing the world’s oceans into subregions, and gathering records from tide gauges, essentially yardsticks used to measure ocean tides, from each area. Using records that contain the most complete data, researchers average them to create sea-level estimates for each region, then average those rates to create a global estimate. “But these simple averages aren’t representative of a true global mean value,” Ms. Hay said. “Tide gauges are located along coasts, therefore large areas of the ocean aren’t being included in these estimates. And the records that do exist commonly have large gaps. “We know the sea level is changing for a variety of reasons,” she added. “There are ongoing effects due to the last ice age, heating and expansion of the ocean due to global warming, changes in ocean circulation, and present-day melting of land ice, all of which result in unique patterns of sea-level change. These processes combine to produce the observed global mean sea-level rise.” The new estimates developed by Ms. Hay and Morrow grew out of a separate project aimed at modeling the physics that underpin sea-level “fingerprints.” To the researchers’ surprise, Ms. Hay said, it quickly became clear that previous estimates of sea-level rise over most of the 20th century were too high. “We expected that we would estimate the individual contributions, and that their sum would get us back to the 1.5 to 1.8 mm per year that other people had predicted,” Ms. Hay said. “But the math doesn’t work out that way. Unfortunately, our new lower rate of sea-level rise prior to 1990 means that the sea-level acceleration that resulted in higher rates over the last 20 years is really much larger than anyone thought.” Amazon and Walmart get most U.S. bucks By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Americans shop more on Amazon or at Walmart than anywhere else, according to Mint, the budgeting application that helps its 16 million-plus users track their personal spending. Although more transactions were recorded on Amazon in 2014, hundreds of millions more dollars, $4.2 billion compared to $3.7 billion, were spent at the discount department store than at the online marketplace that sells just about everything. There are 4,364 Walmart stores in the United States, according to the company’s Web site. When it comes to fast food, McDonald’s still reigns supreme, despite recent earnings reports that showed a 3.3 percent sales decline in the third quarter (April 2014-June 2014). Americans who use Mint forked out more than $514 million for Big Macs, french fries and other fare offered by the fast food giant. McDonald’s has approximately 14,000 restaurants in the United States. Other fast food restaurants where Americans spent the most in 2014 include Starbucks, Subway, Dunkin Donuts, and Chick-Fil-A. The most frequent transactions for Americans in 2014, as in 2013, were for groceries, fast food and restaurants, according to Mint. Student loan payments continue to be a huge focus for Americans. Student loans were in the top 40 spending categories in 2013 and 2014. People in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had the lowest car and health care expenses and the second-lowest home payments last year. New Yorkers paid the most when it comes to home, gas and car expenses.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Ro Colorado S.A 2015
and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
 |
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
|
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 10 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Government allocates $28.5 million to mitigate impact of
drought |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The government is allocating 15.5 trillion colons or about $28.5 million to mitigate the impact of the continuing drought in the north Pacific and elsewhere. The money will be taken from a number of public institutions, said the national emergency commission, which is coordinating the effort. A plan devised by the agency and other institutions seeks to provide humanitarian and social assistance, protect the health of humans and animals, the vegetation and water sources and accumulate supplies of water. The weather phenomenon El Niño is reducing the rainfall in much of the country, and farmers and ranchers are suffering. The emergency commission, the Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias, has declared an alert for 19 cantons that range from Atenas to La Cruz in the far north Pacific. The Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados has created the Agua para Guanacaste plan to provide water to the stricken areas. This includes drilling more wells. This will be the second year in a row that the areas were |
 A.M. Costa Rica file photo
Guanacaste
is normally dry this time of year.
short of rainfall. Many cattlemen already have moved their herds elsewhere or to the slaughterhouse. Some have low expectations of government aid. Acueductos y Alcantarillados already has issued a general warning that drinking water may be short all over the country. The drought also has an impact on the nation's hydropower system, and the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad will be burning more bunker petroleum in its thermal plants. |
| Finance ministry issues a reminder on luxury home tax
deadline |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministerio de Hacienda noted Wednesday that only owners of new or recently purchased luxury homes have to declare value this year. The rest just have to pay the luxury home tax. Homeowners of qualifying dwellings only need to declare the value every three years, so this is an off year for most. The ministry also noted that today is the deadline for making the tax payment. Many financial institutions will accept the money. That includes Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Nacional. In some cases, payment can be made via Web pages. |
This year
homes subject to the tax are those worth 128 million colons or more.
That's about $235,000. The value includes the structure and the
immediate real estate. Condos
are subject to the tax, too, if they meet the value threshold. Owners
have to include a proportional share of the commons area. The tax is overlooked by many. The ministry said that it has been working with municipalities to identify homes eligible for the tax. So far 850 tax avoiders have been identified, it said. The tax is supposed to provide homes for those living in slum conditions. However, there has not been any announcement yet of homes that have been built with the tax income. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A.
2015 and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
 |
|
||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 10 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Huge market potential seen for crops modified to improve
health |
|
|
By the Ghent University news staff
Genetically modified crops with an increased vitamin and/or mineral content have large potential to improve public health, but their availability for consumers is still hampered as a result of the negative public opinion. Research from Ghent University, recently published in Nature Biotechnology, has demonstrated that these crops have a promising market potential. Over the last years, various modified crops with health benefits have been developed in which genes, mostly originating from other organisms, have been added. Notable examples include rice enriched with pro-vitamin A (also known as golden rice) and folate-enriched rice, developed at Ghent University. Fifteen years after the development of golden rice, which was the first genetically modified organism with health benefits, the developers of such transgenic biofortified crops have little reason to celebrate. To date, none of these crops are approved for cultivation, unlike those with agronomic traits. Despite this, six major staple crops have been successfully biofortified with one or more vitamins or minerals. Clearly, these crops with health benefits have great potential. In a recent study, from Ghent University, not only the impact of |
modified
crops on human health, but also their
market potential was convincingly demonstrated. Research at Ghent reveals that consumers are willing to pay more for modified crops with health benefits, with premiums ranging from 20 to 70 percent. This differs from modified crops with farmer benefits, which are only accepted by consumers when they are offered at a discount. Especially in regions, such as China and Brazil, which are considered as key target markets for these nutritionally improved crops, where a large part of the population suffers from nutrient deficiencies, the potential market share is high. Several studies show that these modified crops have positive impacts on human health. As expected, the enhancement of multiple micronutrients in the same crop by genetic modification, yields the best results. This method generates aggregated health benefits at a relatively low cost. Although modified crops with health benefits are not a panacea for eliminating malnutrition, they offer a complementary and cost-effective alternative when other strategies are less successful or feasible, researchers concluded. |
Here's reasonable medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A.
2015 and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
|
A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth
news page
|
||
 |
 |
|
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 10 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 |
| Page 1 is HERE!
Page 2 is HERE! Page 3 is HERE! Page 4 is HERE! Page 6 is HERE! Page 7 is HERE! Sports page is HERE! Opinion is HERE! Classifieds are HERE! Plus useful links |
NEXT Page! |
| U.S. expats in City of Light fear terror will change it By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
On the crowded commuter train that American-born Renee Pontbriand takes to her office near the Eiffel Tower, an unnatural silence set in late last week as a terrorist spree unfolded. "It was spooky," she recalled. The tower, the Champs-Élysées, Notre Dame, the iconic landscape of Paris, remains unchanged. But last week’s two terrorist attacks in and near the city have at least subtly altered the psychological terrain, not only for the French but also for Americans living among them. Affection for the City of Light has not dimmed among nearly a dozen American Francophiles, educators, students, writers, political activist and faith leaders, interviewed for this story. "France is so wonderful and so beautiful and so rich," said Ms. Pontbriand, a Rhode Island native who has lived in metro Paris for more than half of her 45 years. "People take time to talk to you about things. . . . You sit around the table for hours talking with very good food and wine." She, her French husband and their two children live in the southwestern satellite city of Etampes. In a solidarity demonstration there last week, participants sang “La Marseillaise,” Ms. Pontbriand said. But when they reached the point in the national anthem "where it says raise your arms, raise your weapons, someone said, 'no, no, you have to be unified.'" Ms. Pontbriand directs Boston University’s study abroad program in Paris. Fourteen of the semester’s 51 students were in the area when the attacks occurred. The rest of this semester’s class arrived Sunday. "No students dropped out. No parents called," she said. "This generation . . it’s kind of sad," Ms. Pontbriand continued. "They’re almost used to" security alerts and terrorist attacks such as the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013. Gilda DiCarli, who was in the university's exchange program and now is a graduate student at the Paris Institute of Political Science, was home in Boston on winter break when the attacks occurred. But she felt an immediate connection, she said. Her senior thesis on French satire had included a study of Charlie Hebdo. Ms. DiCarli will return soon to Paris, her home almost steadily since 2012, with increased concern for her own safety and that of a city and country she respects. She said she worries about cultural repercussions if government authorities are pressured to impose stricter surveillance and other counterterrorism measures. The child of Argentine emigrants to the United States, Ms. DiCarli has been researching education issues in immigrant communities in Paris.. "Some of the schools are just neglected. The education is supposed to be equality, fraternity and liberty," she said, referencing France’s national motto, "but there really isn’t that equality." Another American student, Lila Hassan, is less worried about personal security than the prospect of more misunderstanding. After last Wednesday’s massacre at the offices of the satirical weekly publication, "my initial reaction was shock," she said. "My second thought was why Charlie Hebdo? I was hoping it wouldn’t be Arabs or Islamists." Ms. Hassan, 20, is a native New Yorker and a Muslim of Arab descent who has participated since August in a Queens College, City University of New York, student exchange program. She studies political science and journalism at Universite Paris Ouest and works on press freedom issues with the nonprofit Reporters Without Borders. Though her parents offered to fly her home, Ms. Hassan insisted she felt safe. She’d already lived with her family in Cairo and was in Tahir Square in January 2011 as crowds demanded Hosni Mubarek’s removal as Egypt’s president. "I know Paris isn’t following those same trends. It’s not at risk of revolution that way," she said. At Sunday’s massive solidarity march at the Place de la Republique, Ms. Hassan engaged with other marchers and was encouraged to discover "a lot of them really understand the differences between a practicing Muslim and radicalism. Being here and trying to clarify that in my own way is really important." Dual-citizen Eileen Horowitz Bastianelli took part in Sunday’s demonstration at the Place de la Republique and in a spontaneous gathering there just a few hours after the Charlie Hebdo attack. "In the realm of something so tragic, it was extraordinary to see how people have banded together,” said Ms. Bastianelli, a native New Yorker who grew up in California and moved to Paris in 1988. "… All of us keep saying, let it last." The digital media consultant ran social media for Democrats Abroad in 2012 and was disappointed that no top-level U.S. official took part in the Sunday solidarity march. She called it "a very, very bad representation of my country and my president, who I really believe in." Ms. Bastianelli said she’s concerned about the growing societal fractures in religious extremism and in the "sharp rise of the far right." Friday’s attack at the kosher supermarket has stirred discussion of the role of anti-Semitism in the terror spree. American David Lebovitz, who describes himself as part Jewish, said friends now ask whether he has encountered anti-Semitism in Paris. "I’ve never had anything happen to me," he said. A food blogger and author of "My Paris Kitchen," he moved to France from California in 2003. He writes from his apartment, about a five-minute walk from the Charlie Hebdo offices. Though he dislikes crowds, Lebovitz felt compelled to join in Sunday’s big march. "I wanted to be there, because it was a very emotional thing," he said. The recent terrorism, "caused by extremists who have certain beliefs," hasn’t changed his routine, Lebovitz said. "But I wonder if it’s going to change in the aftermath," he said. "Is the city going to change? Is the country going to change? Are people’s attitudes going to change?" Patricia and Walter Wells, journalists who divide their time between Paris and Provence, were having lunch in the south of France when they got a news alert about a mass shooting at a Paris publication. "First thing, we looked at one another and said, ‘What if it’s the Tribune?’ " said Mrs. Wells, a restaurant critic, author and blogger whose husband was the longtime editor of the International Herald Tribune. They had moved to France from New York in 1980. They live in the capital and Vaison-la-Romaine, a Provencal village of 6,000 where this week at the market people had signs pinned to their back, "Je Suis Charlie," Mrs. Wells said. She added that the husband had joined in a village unity march Sunday that drew “about 2,000 people. ... I’m really pleased at the solidarity.” Yet, she said there’s "a tremendous amount of tension" over a growing Muslim presence. She added that, particularly in the schools, “it feels like a powder keg." The couple runs a cooking school that draws travelers from the United States and elsewhere. Mrs. Wells said she doubted their clients would be deterred by the terrorist attacks, though "I think people do feel like this is France’s 9/11." France is second only to the United Kingdom as a European destination for Americans, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Tourism accounts for 7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, Fortune magazine said in a report on terrorism’s potential impact on the industry. Tourists and ex-pats are among the worshipers at the American Cathedral in Paris, which primarily serves English speakers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Africa. "We had the embassy calling to say we’re a soft target," said Lucinda Laird, cathedral dean and rector since March 2013. "So we closed our gates on Wednesday. We’re buzzing people in and out – more to assuage people’s fears." Even though police killed three Islamic extremists in Friday's twin raids, the country remains at its highest level of security alert. Over the weekend, Rev. Laird led a service naming, and offering prayers for, the three perpetrators as well as their 17 victims. "We’re trying not to respond to hate with hate," said the cleric, raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sunday’s sermon fell to an interim associate priest who’d arrived on New Year’s Eve for a six-month term. Mary Haddad preached about finding a glint of light in a dark time. She spoke from experience: She weathered a 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles and, almost 14 years ago, was at a talk at New York’s Trinity Church when planes hit the neighboring World Trade Center. "I have the disaster gene," Rev. Haddad joked. Humor aside, she said surviving Sept. 11 "made me calmer. Living through it, you realize there’s September 12. It gives you a perspective. … We have the present moment, which is the only moment that God ever gives us. "Paris is the same – yesterday, today, tomorrow – this beautiful, magnetic City of Light." Harvard's sex assault policy coming in for criticism By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A move by Harvard Law School to modify its rules for investigating sexual assaults on campus has renewed a debate over efforts to protect student victims versus providing fair hearings for the accused. The issue of sexual assault on U.S. college campuses has become a major subject of debate over the past few months. Recently, Harvard Law School reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education to adopt a lower burden of proof to investigate cases of sexual harassment and violence. The new rules are supported by some, while others say the new policy lacks basic elements of fairness. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced in December that it had found Harvard Law School in violation of Title IX, a federal law that bars gender discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funding. The Department of Education launched the investigation mainly because Harvard law students had complained about this issue before. Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for the civil rights office, says the school's procedures did not satisfy the legal requirement for prompt and efficient investigations. "The ultimate findings we reached were that the law school had been using an inappropriate standard for review when investigating allegations of sexual harassment and sexual violence. They also had not ensured training for personnel who would be involved in investigating complaints," said Ms. Lhamon. Harvard Law School had been using what the federal government says is an outdated clear and convincing standard threshold, which requires a 75 percent chance that an attack took place. On the same day the results were released, Harvard agreed to adopt a lower burden of proof, called a preponderance of the evidence, which requires a little more than 50 percent chance that a student was attacked. Martha Minow, dean of Harvard Law School, said the agreement recognizes the law school has already taken steps to redress identified shortcomings and foster a learning environment in which everyone is free from sexual misconduct. Some are applauding the new rules. Wendy Murphy, an attorney and adjunct professor at the New England School of Law, says the change at Harvard is important because the university is seen as a leader. "If Harvard is held to account and changes its policies in a way that expresses women’s full equality and a commitment to respect for their safety on campus, that reverberates very quickly and effectively, because other schools recognize Harvard as a leader not only in terms of substantive knowledge but also as an institution," said Murphy. But not everyone is supportive of the changes. A letter from 28 Harvard law professors criticized the new procedures for lacking the basic elements of fairness and due process protections for students accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet says many are worried about "the vagueness of the language and the failure to protect consensual conduct that we think puts students at undue risk." Recent news stories have increased public interest about the issue of sexual assault on college campuses, which is likely to be debated for some time. Obama promotes broadband as way to boost economy By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Ahead of his annual State of the Union address Tuesday, President Barack Obama is promoting ideas on how to boost the U.S. economy and improve the standard of living for more Americans. This week, his speeches have focused on the importance of digital technology for consumers and businesses and on ways to protect confidential information in cyberspace. Speaking to an audience in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Wednesday, Obama said the U.S. economy is growing stronger, and he wants more Americans to feel that resurgence in their daily lives. "And in the 21st century, in this age of innovation and technology so much of the prosperity that we are striving for, so many of the jobs that we want to create depend on our digital economy, depend on our ability to connect and to shop, and to do business and discover, and learn online in cyberspace," said Obama. In order to succeed, the president said Americans in many communities needed faster and cheaper access to broadband. "It's about giving the entrepreneur, the small businessperson on Main Street, a chance to compete with folks out in Silicon Valley or across the globe. It's about helping a student access the online courses and employment opportunities that can help her pursue her dreams," he said. Monday, the president unveiled plans to strengthen laws against identity theft by requiring businesses to inform consumers within 30 days if their information has been hacked. The plan also would criminalize companies selling consumers' data overseas. "This is a matter of public safety and of public health. And most of this infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector. So neither government nor the private sector can defend the nation alone. It's going to have to be a shared mission, government and industry working hand-in-hand as partners,” said Obama. Privacy advocates have criticized the idea of data-sharing between companies and the government, following the discovery of U.S. government surveillance and bulk-data collection. But some analysts note that many companies share customers' personal data without their knowledge or consent. Obama expressed confidence Tuesday after meeting with a group of lawmakers that a compromise will be reached as it is in everyone's interest to protect U.S. economy from cyberattacks. Quashing author's subpoena draws praise from colleagues Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The Inter American Press Association welcomed a decision by the U. S. Justice Department to drop the subpoena to journalist James Risen of The New York Times demanding he reveal his sources of information and declared that this ruling “provides a path for a deeper review of the need for a federal law being enacted to protect sources of information.” The Justice Department Tuesday withdrew the subpoena to Risen, requiring him to disclose the identity of his confidential sources in a trial concerning the leaking of classified information. In June 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court had rejected an appeal by Risen, who cited his professional commitment to protect his sources, something for which he could face imprisonment. Press association President Gustavo Mohme, editor of the Lima, Peru, newspaper La República, expressed pleasure at the Justice Department’s decision and said that “we who practice journalism have the obligation to keep our sources confidential, those who play a key role in the information that we put at the disposal of the people, this being a moral and legal principle enshrined in several constitutions.” Risen was called on in 2013 to give a statement in the criminal trial of former CIA agent Jeffrey Sterling, accused of unauthorized leaking of state secrets in violation of the espionage law. The information was reported in a book by Risen in 2006, “State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration,” in which there was revealed an undercover operation that involved an attempt to provide defective plans concerning nuclear weapons to Iranian officials. Several press association resolutions and reports in the last few years have indicated the need to enact a shield law for the protection of news sources. It is held that a law of this nature would encourage investigative journalism, watchdog action over those in power and prevent news sources from themselves censoring their denunciations and thus reducing the transparency that a democracy demands. Five more inmates leave Guantanamo holding facility By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The United States has transferred five men from the military-run detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the Obama administration steps up its goal of closing the controversial facility. The Pentagon announced the transfers Wednesday. All five men are from Yemen, and have spent at least a dozen years at Guantanamo, despite being cleared for release in 2009 by a special task force created by President Barack Obama. Four have been sent to the Middle Eastern nation of Oman, while the fifth has been accepted in the Baltic nation of Estonia. The detention center on Guantanamo Bay has housed suspected terrorists captured overseas by U.S. military forces after the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington. But human rights activists have criticized the United States for holding the detainees indefinitely without bringing charges against them. Obama vowed to close the prison when he took office in 2009, but his efforts were halted due to restrictions passed by Congress. The administration renewed its efforts to close the prison after some of the restrictions were lifted in 2013, transferring nearly 30 prisoners last year. Wednesday's transfers leave 122 detainees at Guantanamo. A group of Republican senators introduced a bill earlier this week that would place a moratorium on detainee transfers. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A.
2015 and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
|
||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 10 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
||
|
 Security Ministry
photo
Coast Guardsmen inspect the
confiscated cocaine.By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Servicio Nacional de
Guardacostas crew members working on a tip from a U.S. aircraft
detained five persons and confiscated 810 kilos of cocaine off Quepos
Tuesday.
On land, the Policía de Control de Drogas conducted 10 raids Wednesday to nab nine drug suspects in San José, Heredia and Limón. The security ministry said that the arrests involved members of two separate groups. The Heredia-Limón organization was involved in the distribution of Jamaican marijuana, investigators said. Two launches and security ministry aircraft closed in on the Ecuadorian-registered 30-foot Cherna about 1 p.m. Tuesday. Two Costa Ricans and three Colombians were aboard. The first land-based drug distributors worked the Cañada Sur and San Sebastián areas of San José. The second organization imported marijuana to Limón and then transferred it to Heredia for retail sales, the security ministry said. Animal adoptions in Tres Ríos Sunday By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Residents of the Tres Ríos area can find their new animal friend Sunday at the local park. That is where the Asociación Animales de Asís is holding its next adoption fair. The time is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Both puppies and dogs and kittens and cats are available, said the organization. The animals have been castrated and vaccinated, the association said. A donation of 10,000 colons is sought for each pet adopted. |
| Costa Rican News |
AMCostaRicaArchives.com |
Retire NOW
in Costa Rica |
CostaRicaReport.com |
| Fine Dining
in Costa Rica |
The CAFTA Report |
Fish
fabulous Costa Rica |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A.
2015 and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| From Page 7: Program seeks to bring women into technology By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A project that is designed to bring more young women in technology will be initiated today with a ceremony involving President Luis Guillermo Solís. This is the MenTe en Acción program created by the non-profit Amigos of Costa Rica, an arm of the U.S.A Foundation. "Around the world, the technology field has a gender diversity problem," said Amigos on the project Web site. "A combination of social forces discourage women from entering this field. MenTe en Acción is a 12-week program to empower 50 young women into becoming engineers, developers, and get excited about technology. The program also engages professional women already in the workforce and current students pursuing these majors to create a network that serves as a social support system." Operators of the program will create 10 teams of teen women to create computer applications over 12 Saturdays, and members of the winning team will get full university scholarships, Amigos said. The organization is seeking donations for the program. The word MenTe is a play on the Spanish word for mind. The word also is short for mujeres en tecnología, "Women in technology." |
