Halsband Worldwide Partners, the top independent advertising agency in Costa Rica, will host the 2002 Latin American Region meeting of Worldwide Partners, Inc., the  world’s largest network of owner-operated marketing communications  firms. The four-day event begins today at the Real Intercontinental Hotel in San José.

With the title "A Volcano of Ideas," the conference brings together executives and creative directors from advertising agencies in Central and South America who are shareholders in a global knowledge network. Attendees will meet in several sessions to assess the state of the advertising economies in their countries, develop new  methods of sharing their local market expertise, and plan new ways of coordinating  their powers to win regional advertising accounts.

The opportunity to share international business is one of the main reasons the independently- owned, entrepreneurial agencies formed the Worldwide Partners corporation to which new firms must be elected by shareholder agencies in 56 countries. Halsband Worldwide Partners is one of six Central American agencies in the corporation that helped execute an international campaign for Viagra. 

Conference participants include Worldwide Partners owners from: The Group Comunicação Ltda. of São Paulo, Brazil; Azócar & Luco Comunicación Comercial  of Santiago, Chile; Halsband Worldwide Partners of San José; Avance Epsilon Publicidad of Guatemala City, Guatemala; Excell Mercadeo S.A. de C.V. of  Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Huella Publicidad of Managua , Nicaragua; NonStop Communications of Panama City, Panama; Israel Rodríguez & Partners Inc. of San Juan, Puerto Rico; and SantaBarbara,Mrm/Oriental of Montevideo, Uruguay.

Worldwide Partners has a membership of 90 firms worldwide. these companies have more than 2,700 clients and bill $4.2 billion each year.

As police closed in to arrest a female and her male companion in San Pedro Tuesday afternoon, the woman hurled a fragmentation grenade at officers, according to investigators.

The powerful grenade did not explode because police were able to secure it in time, according to a spokesman for the Judicial Investigating Organization.

Police were closing in on the two about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of condominiums in Vargas Araya in San Pedro. The two were suspected of being involved with a band of robbers who plied their trade at houses in the metropolitan area, said police.

The two were grabbed while they were in a car that also contained a large caliber weapon and what police think are stolen goods. Police said the woman, a Colombian identified as Diana Ramírez, was in the backseat of the vehicle when she saw special officers approaching. That’s when police said she threw the grenade.

The man, a Costa Rican, was identified as Alexis Sosa.

This was the latest chapter in a story that began more than 15 days ago when police became suspicious of a home in San Isidro de Heredia and placed it under surveillance for two weeks.

They described the place as a center of operations or warehouse for robbers who would pay up to 150,000 colons ($436) each month to store stolen goods there.

Police moved in last Friday and confiscated a large quantity of what they consider to be stolen items.

The warehouse for robbers is believed to be linked 

The gang also is being linked to an attempted holdup Jan. 27 in San Rafael de Escazú when three men were breaking into a home. The couple there confronted the men, the male occupant fought and the woman fired a gun and wounded a robber, said police.

The robbers fled after hitting the male member of the couple, and that is why he decided to go to San Juan de Dios Hospital for treatment. That is also where the wounded robbery suspect  went, said police, and the owner of the house recognized the man and told police.

Police identified the wounded man as an occupant of the home that was being watched in San Isidro de Heredia, and they decided to raid the dwelling.

The injured robber had three bullet wounds, said police. They said they also believe that another member of the robbery gang suffered wounds, but he has not been located. They think this because a vehicle found at the warehouse contained blood stains believed to be from the second man.

Police located in the raid items taken in the Guayabos de Curridabat robbery, they said. 

The two people arrested Tuesday afternoon were linked to crimes because of information found at San Isidro de Heredia, police said.

They asked that citizens who have been victims of robberies in Heredia, Cartago, Curridabat or San José to inquire about the articles that have been recovered by calling 295-3305, 295-3306 or 295-3307.

Democrats Abroad of Costa Rica will meet on Monday, Feb. 25, with University of Costa Rica  professor Luis G. Solis, who also is a political scientist and popular media pundit 

The session will be an in-depth analysis of the Feb. 3 presidential election campaigns and their implications for Costa Rica politics and governance. No candidate got the needed 40 percent of the vote Feb. 3, so now two candidates will square off in voting April 7

The Democrats’ meeting will be held on the fifth floor of the Gran Hotel Costa Rica downtown. The business meeting and political update begins at 11 a.m., the buffet lunch at noon and the election review and discussion at approximately 12:45 p.m. 

For reservations (2,500 colons for members and 3,000 ($8.70) for guests) and additional information contact Ruth Dixon at 494-6260 or Jerry Ledin at 290-5798. All in the community are welcome.

Reception to welcome
new U.S. ambassador

U.S. Ambassador John J. Danilovich and his wife Irene will be the guests of honor at an American Colony Committee welcome reception Feb. 21 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel. 

The  cost is 10,000 colons ($29), and there is a cash bar. Tickets are being sold beforehand. The organizers said that no tickets would be available at the door.

Danilovich, a Republican, is a political appointee. He has been a supporter of President Bush. Those who attend the reception will get a chance to talk one-on-one with the ambassador.

The American Colony Committee is the traditional host for such ambassadorial events. 

Tickets are available from the committee at 233-3296, from Aerocasillas at 296-9590, from the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce at 220-2200 and from The Tico Times at 258-1558, said the committee in a flier distributed in Escazú.

Big media campaign
links drugs, terror

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy has launched a new media campaign to educate the public about the link between drug trafficking and terrorism. The multi-pronged effort will say that the sales of illicit drugs finance acts of terror, as documented by a U.S. State Department survey of international terrorist organizations.

"Drug use hurts our families and our communities," said office Director John Walters in a release on the initiative. The campaign premiered with the broadcast of television messages during the American national football championship game Sunday. The messages will receive further public exposure on broadcast and cable television. Advertising will appear in national magazines and almost 300 newspapers across the country.

The office will also be using banner advertising on the Internet in addition to Web sites it already has in place with the goal to help parents and teachers better educate youngsters about the dangers of illegal drugs.

Those Web sites are available at http://www1.theantidrug.com/ and http://www1.theantidrug.com/
teachersguide/index.html

U.S. may pay to guard
Colombian oil pipeline

BOGOTA, Colombia — A U.S. delegation here says the Bush Administration will ask Congress to fund efforts by Colombia's military to protect a key oil pipeline from rebel attacks. 

The delegation led by Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman said Tuesday the proposal calls for $98 million to train and equip Colombian soldiers. They would guard the 780-kilometer (468-mile) Cano Limon pipeline in eastern Colombia that carries oil for the U.S. firm, Occidental Petroleum. 

The pipeline was bombed 170 times last year, 13 times so far this year, and is currently shut down for repairs. The funding proposal may face opposition in Congress, because some lawmakers reportedly fear it would be a step closer to involving U.S. troops in Colombia's 38-year civil war. 

Powell criticizes
Venezuela’s Chavez

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has criticized Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's style of governing, questioning Chavez's commitment to democracy and the war on terrorism. 

Secretary Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday the United States is concerned about some of President Chavez's actions and his understanding of democracy.  While refusing comment on allegations Venezuela is supporting leftist rebels in neighboring Colombia, Powell did criticize President Chavez's visits to countries the United States considers enemies.  Chavez has traveled to Iraq and Cuba and is an ally of Cuban President Fidel Castro. 
 

The vice presidential candidate of Costa Rica's leading political party has resigned ahead of runoff elections scheduled for April 7. 

Luis Fishman, of Prtido Unidad Social Cristiana, submitted his resignation Tuesday, citing disagreements over who would run the ticket's second round of campaigning. 

However, Fishman is not legally allowed to remove his name from voting for the second round. If his party wins the April election, he will be sworn in as vice president. 

However, the party's presidential candidate, Abel Pacheco, says he expects Fishman to resign from office immediately after the swearing in. 

The election runoff is a first in Costa Rica's modern, democratic history. The Social Christian Party won the first round of Costa Rica's presidential balloting on Sunday, with about 39 percent of the vote. The party was just short of the 40 percent needed for an outright majority. 

The runoff will be against Rolando Araya of the National Liberation Party, who won about 31 percent of the vote in Sunday's election.

Mexican village
evacuated 

The town of Yerbabuena in the western Mexico state of Colima has been evacuated following the eruption of a nearby volcano. 

Military personnel conducted the evacuation Tuesday, helping more than 200 residents load their possessions onto buses destined for other areas. 

The 4,000-meter (13,000-foot) volcano, known as the "Volcano of Fire," began spewing smoke, ash and vapor several days ago. Scientists say a huge dome of lava located inside a crater could either collapse or explode, putting nearby residents at risk. 

An estimated 300,000 people live within 40 kilometers of the volcano, but lava flows have never reached populated areas.
 

Argentina unveils
new austerity plan

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — President Eduardo Duhalde has unveiled an austerity budget aimed to help the financially-troubled nation rebound from the brink of economic collapse. 

President Duhalde's government Tuesday presented Congress with the budget, which contains $3 billion in spending cuts. Officials also say the budget is based on projections the economy will contract by as much as 5 percent this year, with inflation climbing to 15 percent. 

The new budget is said to be largely in line with demands by the International Monetary Fund for Argentina to develop a sustainable plan for economic recovery as a precondition for financial aid. 

In December, the IMF withheld a $1.2 billion loan package for Argentina, saying the South American country failed to control government spending. Argentina is seeking at least $15 billion in aid from the IMF to rescue the economy. Argentina has been in recession nearly four years and is in default on $141 billion in public debt. 

The economic crisis also has left 18 percent of the work force unemployed and has triggered widespread anti-government protests. 

On Tuesday, hundreds of unemployed Argentines blocked roads and bridges in the Buenos Aires area before marching to the presidential mansion to demand jobs. The demonstrators also vented their frustrations over restrictions on bank accounts aimed at preventing a massive flight of capital out of the country. 

The government has postponed plans to fully float the peso on the open market. The decision came after the Central Bank ordered foreign exchange houses closed through Thursday in order to implement changes connected to the free-float.
 

Kidnap victim gets
help from neighbors

Brazilian police say foreign extremists were responsible for the kidnapping two months ago of a Brazilian advertising executive. 

The kidnappers of Washington Olivetto were apparently associated with six members of a Chilean left-wing group, the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front, who were arrested Friday. The abductors fled the house where Olivetto was being held after learning of the arrests. 

Olivetto called for help Saturday after realizing the kidnappers had left him alone. Neighbors in the Sao Paolo suburb came to his rescue. 

The kidnappers had demanded a $10 million ransom from Olivetto's family, but it was never paid. Brazil's kidnapping rates have increased dramatically in recent years. Police say the 2001 total is five times the total number of kidnappings in 2000.